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FRA   GIROLAMO    SAVONAROLA 


vsi^a  obstat. 

Georgius  Canning,  S.J., 

Censoy  Depuialus. 


Imprimatur. 

GuLiEMUs  Pk-«;positus  Johnson, 
Vicarius  Generalis, 


Westmonasterii, 
Die  20  Septembris,  1905. 


Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    STUDY 
BASED    ON    CONTEMPORARY    DOCUMENTS 


BY 

HERBERT     LUCAS 

OF   THE   SOCIETY    OK   JESUS 


SECOND   EDITION— REVISED 


ST     LOUIS,    MO. 

B.   HERDER,   \^  South   Broadway 

LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH:    SANDS   &   COMPANY 

1906 


PREFACE 

*  I  ""HE  present  work  owes  its  inception  to  the  circumstance 
•*■  that,  in  the  month  of  February  1898,  the  writer  received 
for  review  Dr  Ludwig  Pastor's  brochure  Zur  Beiirtheilung 
Savotiarolas.  Dr  Pastor  had,  as  every  one  interested  in  such 
matters  is  aware,  treated  at  some  length  of  the  career  of 
Savonarola  in  the  third  volume  of  his  Geschichte  der  Pdpste 
im.  Zeitalter  der  Renaissance.  His  presentment  of  the  facts 
as  well  as  his  judgment  upon  them,  had,  however,  been  some- 
what sharply  criticised  by  various  writers,  and  more  par- 
ticularly by  Dr  Paolo  Luotto  in  an  elaborate  apology  for 
Savonarola  entitled  //  vero  Savonarola  e  il  Savonarola  dt 
Lodovico  Pastor.  To  this  volume,  together  with  some  less  im- 
portant publications,  the  tract,  Zur  Beurtheilung  Savonarolas, 
was  a  rejoinder. 

To  review  the  pamphlet,  then,  was  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
two  experts  ;  and  such  a  task  it  was  manifestly  unreasonable 
to  undertake  without  having  made  some  acquaintance  with  the 
subject  at  first  hand.  This  again  it  was  hardly  possible  to 
do  without  discovering  how  considerable  a  mass  of  con- 
temporar}'  documentary  evidence  —  published  indeed,  but 
scattered  through  the  volumes  of  the  Archivio  Storico  Italiano^ 
the  Appendices  to  the  works  of  Quetif,  Perrens,  and  Villari,  the 
collections  of  Gherardi  and  CappelH,  etc.,  and  thus  inaccessible 
to  the  ordinary  English  reader — was  available  for  the  use  of 
any  one  who  should  care  to  bring  it  together,  in  a  compendious 


viii  PREFACE 

form,  within  the  compass  of  a  single  volume.  And  this  task, 
considering  the  interest  of  the  subject  for  all  students  of 
ecclesiastical  history,  it  seemed  worth  while  to  undertake. 

The  original  purpose,  then,  with  which  the  writer  com- 
menced his  study  of  the  Savonarola  literature  has  been  long 
since  left  behind.  With  Dr  Pastor  or  Professor  Luotto 
as  the  principals  in  a  controversial  contest  we  are  not 
concerned.  Our  endeavour  throughout  has  been,  primarily, 
to  set  before  the  reader  the  facts  of  Savonarola's  life,  and  a 
summary  of  the  documentary  evidence  bearing  thereon;  and 
secondly  to  express,  with,  we  trust,  becoming  moderation 
and  reserve,  our  own  judgment  on  such  points  as  have 
given  rise  to  a  divergence  of  views  upon  his  actions, 
his  words,  his  aims  and  intentions,  and  on  the  actions  and 
motives  of  those  who,  in  greater  or  less  measure,  took  part 
in  the  conflict  which  issued  in  the  final  catastrophe  of  his 
condemnation  and  execution.  In  the  carrying  out  of  this 
undertaking  we  have  striven  to  keep  in  mind,  for  our  own 
guidance,  the  wise  words  of  Dr  Grauert :  "  Halten  wir  alle  an 
einer  streng  sachlichen  Diskussion  fest  ;  damit  wird  der 
Wissenschaft  am  besten  gedient.  Die  heftigen  Kampfe 
der  Arrabbiati  und  Piagnonen  sollten  sich  unter  uns  nicht 
erneuern ! " ^ 

So  much,  in  substance,  and  for  the  most  part  verbatim^ 
was  said  by  way  of  introduction  to  the  first  edition  of  this 
work,  published  in  1899.  The  circumstance  that  the  second 
edition  is  printed  from  the  stereotype  plates  which  served 
for  the  first,  has  made  it  necessary  to  restrict  the  changes 
in  the  text  and  notes  to  such  emendations  and  additions 
as  could  be  made  without  disturbance  of  the  pagination. 
The    revision    has,  however,  by  no  means  been  confined  to 

*  Hislunsc/ies  Ja/irl/uch  der  Gorres-CeseUschaft^  1899,  p.  107. 


PREFACE  fat 

merely  verbal  corrections.  In  particular  it  has  been  possible 
to  take  account,  though  less  fully  than  we  could  have  wished, 
of  what  has  been  written  on  the  subject,  since  1899,  by  Mr 
E.  Armstrong  (pp.  100,  177,  179,  219,  236,  407,  429,  441), 
by  Dr  Joseph  Schnitzer  (pp.  48,  144,  221,  253,  384,  428,  430), 
and  by  Father  J.  L.  O'Neil,  O.P.^  (pp.  180,  231,  247,  442), 
to  whose  criticisms  in  the  San  Francisco  Monitor  (nth  and 
1 8th  November  1899),  as  well  as  to  his  monograph  on  the 
excommunication  of  Savonarola,  we  are  further  indebted  for 
corrections  or  modifications,  in  the  text  or  the  notes,  on  pp. 
10,  51,  138,  214,  215,  216,  219,  252,  297,  429. 

As  regards  Mr  Armstrong,  we  have  to  express  our 
sincere  regret  that  we  did  not,  in  preparing  the  first  edition 
of  this  biography,  make  use  of  the  valuable  article  on 
Savonarola  contributed  by  him  to  the  English  Historical 
Review  so  long  ago  as  1889.'-  We  are  now  glad  to  acknow- 
ledge that,  in  several  of  the  particulars  on  which  we  had 
ventured  to  dissent  from  Prof.  Villari,  we  had  been  anticipated 
by  Mr  Armstrong.  Instances  of  this  may  be  found,  in  the 
present  edition,  at  the  foot  of  pp.  84,  135,  164,  165.^  It  is, 
however,  a  satisfaction  to  find  that,  approaching  the  subject 
from  quite  different  points  of  view,  we  had  been  led  to 
similar  conclusions  on  these  points  though  not  on  others, 
by  an  independent  study  of  the  same  evidence. 

In  addition  to  the  writers  who  have  been  named,  we 
have  to  express  our  thanks  to  other  reviewers  of  the  first 
edition,    notably    to    Dr    William     Barry,    Mgr.     Bellerheim, 

^  See  the  "  Bibliographical  List,"  infra,  pp.  xi.  sqq..^  s.  v  v. 

^  The  single  quotation  from  this  article  which  the  first  edition  contained  {infra, 
p.  367  note)  was  one  of  the  very  few  which  were  taken  at  second  hand  ;  in  this 
case  from  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  vl.  36  (E.T.),  as  was,  of  course,  duly 
indicated. 

*  See  also  p.  172  note. 


X  PREFACE 

"  T>chicus,"  and  a  contributor  to  the  AtJtcnmnn.  It  only 
remains  to  add  that  pp.  441-442,  the  last  in  the  book,  have 
been  rewritten ;  that  some  minor  alterations  have  been  made 
on  pp.  358,  434;  and  that  the  descriptive  details  in  the 
"  Bibliographical  List "  {infra,  pp.  xi.-xx.)  have  been  slightly 
abbreviated  in  order  to  make  room  for  additional  items. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    LIST 


Many  of  the  works  in  the  following  list  are  cited  in  the  course  of  the  book  by  the 
author's  or  editor's  name  alone,  or  by  such  abbreviations  as  are  indicated 
below. 

Allegretti,   Allrgretto.      "  Diari   delle   cose   Sanesi   del  suo 

tempo."     In  Muratori,  "  Rerum  Italicarum  Scriptores,"  xxiii. 

767  sqq.     Mediolani,  1733. 
■' Annali  del  Convento  di  S.  Caterina  di  Pisa,  Estratti  degli." 

In  "  Archivio  Storico  Italiano,"  vol.  vi.  part  ii.,  pp.  399  sqq. 

Firenze,  1848. 
"  Archivio  Storico  Italian©,  ossia  Raccolta  di  Opere  e  Docu- 

menti    inediti    o   divenuti    rarissinii    risguardanti    la    Storia 

d'ltalia."      5    Series    and    Appendix.      Firenze,    1842    sqq. 

Cited  as  "A.S.I."     References  are  to  the  First  Series  unless 

another  is  specified. 

Armstrong,  Edward.  "  Savonarola  "  ;  an  article  in  the  "  English 
Historical  Review"  (cited  as  "E.H.R."),  vol.  iv.  (1889)  ;  being 
a  critical  review  of  the  second  edition  of  Villari's  "  Storia 
di  G.  S." 

,,  ,,  A  review  of  the  first  edition  of  the  present 

work,  in  "  E.H.R.,"  vol.  xvi.     London,  1901. 

„  „  Florence    (i.)  :     "Savonarola";    being 

chap.  V.  of  the  "  Cambridge  Modern  History "  (cited  as 
"C.M.H."),  vol.  i.  Cambridge,  1902. 
Benedetto  da  Firenze,  Fra  (O.P.),  "Vulnera  Diligentis." 
This  unpublished  tract,  by  a  contemporary  and  fervent 
disciple  of  Savonarola,  tells  the  story  of  his  career  in  the 
form  of  a  dialogue  between  "Agricola"  {i.e.  Benedetto 
himself)  and  "  Volpe,"  or,  in  one  part,  between  "  Agricola  " 
and  "  Propheta  "  (Savonarola).  Considerable  extracts  from 
it  are  given  in  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  Ixxxiv.  sqq.^  and  ii. 
Append,  pp.  Ixxxiii.  sqq. 

xi 


xii  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST 

Benedetto  da  Firenze,  Fra  (O.P.).  '"Cedrus  Libani,'  ossia  vita 
di  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola,  scritta  in  terzetti  da  Fra  Benedetto 
da  Firenze  I'anno  15  lo;  connote.  Per  cura  del  P.  Vincenzo 
Marchese  de'  Predicatori."  In  "Archivio  Storico  Italiano,' 
Append,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  41  sqq.     Firenze,  1850. 

Bernardino  da  Lucca,  Fra  (O.P.).    "  Definitio  contra  injustam  ex- 
communicationem  latam  erga  fratrem  Hieronymum  Savonarolam 
ferrariensem."     In  Mansi's  Appendix  to  "Miscellanea  .Stephani 
Baluzii,"  i.  pp.  593  sqq.     Lucae,  1761. 
„  „  ,,  "  Discorso  sopra  la  dottrina  et 

opere  del  reverendo  Padre  fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  .  .  .  fatto 
in  Roma  sotto  .  .  .  papa  Paulo  IV.  alia  presenza  dell'  illustrissimi 
.  .  .  Cardinali  della  Santa  Inquisitione  .  .  .  1558."  In  Qu^tif, 
ii.  561  sqq. 

BoTONio  TiMOTEO  (O.P.).     See  below  under  Burlamacchi,  P. 

Burlamacchi  Pacifico  (O.P.).  "Vita  del  P.  F.  Girolamo 
Savonarola,  riveduta  poco  dopo  ed  aggiunta  dal  P.  F.  Timoteo 
Botonio"  (O.P.).  Lucca,  1761.  The  "Life"  which,  since 
the  days  of  Mansi,  who  first  published  it,  has  borne  the  name 
of  Burlamacchi,  was  certainly  not  written  by  him.  In  most 
of  the  MSS.  in  which  it  has  been  preserved  it  is  not  even 
attributed  to  him,  or  is  ascribed  to  him  only  by  a  later  hand. 
Fra  Pacifico  Burlamacchi,  who  entered  the  convent  of  S.  Marco 
in  1499,  the  year  after  Savonarola's  death,  died  in  15 19.  But 
the  biography  ascribed  to  him  in  Mansi's  MS.  is  based,  as 
Villari  has  shown,  on  an  anonymous  and  hitherto  unpublished 
Vita  Latvia,  which  was  written  by  an  inmate  of  S.  Marco 
between  1520  and  1530.  By  "Burlamacchi,"  then,  we  must 
be  understood  to  mean  the  unknown  author,  who,  by  a  con- 
vention now  generally  accepted,  is  usually  cited  under  that 
name.  Quetif,  writing  while  "  Burlamacchi "  was  still  un- 
published, quotes  from  him  under  the  name  of  "  P.  Timotheus 
Perusinus."  "  Father  Timothy  of  Perugia "  was  the  "  P.  F. 
Timoteo  Botonio  "  who  is  mentioned  in  some  of  the  MSS.  as 
having  revised  and  enlarged  the  work  of  Burlamacchi.  Who- 
ever the  author  of  the  "  Life"  may  have  been,  his  work  derives 
its  value  from  being  a  reproduction,  with  comparatively  un- 
important modifications,  of  the  Vita  Latina.  (See  Villari, 
Pref.  pp.  viii  sqq.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  xiil 

Cappki.li,  Antonio.  "  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  e  notizie  intorno  il 
suo  tempo."  In  "  Atti  e  Memorie  delle  RR.  deputazioni  di 
Storia  patria  per  la  provincie  Modenesi  e  Parmesi,"  vol.  iv. 
Modena,  1869.  Principally  letters  from  Manfredo  Manfredi, 
Ferrarese  envoy  at  Florence,  to  Ercole  d'Este,  Duke  of  Ferrara. 

Cerretani,  Bartolommeo.  "Storia  Fiorentina."  Considerable 
extracts  from  this  unpublished  work  are  given  in  Ranke, 
"  Historisch-bibliographische  Studien,"  pp.  335  sqq. 

CiNOZZi,  Fra  Placido  (O.P.).  "  Estratto  d'una  epistola  fratris 
Placidi  de  Cinozis  Ordinis  Praedicatorum  S.  Marci  de  Florentia, 
devita  et  moribus  reverendi  patris  fratris  Hieronimi  Savonarole 
de  Ferraria,  fratri  Jacobo  Siculo,  eiusdem  Ordinis  Vicarius 
generalis  {sic),  post  mortem  dicti  Prophete."  In  Villari  and 
Casanova,  pp.  3  .yr/^.  Firenze,  1898.  This  is  probably  the  earliest 
biographical  notice  of  Savonarola.  From  it  a  good  deal  of 
Burlamacchi's  "  Life"  is  taken  verbatim.  Cinozzi  was  a  diligent 
hearer  and  disciple  of  Savonarola,  and  his  "Letter"  appears 
to  have  been  written  shortly  after  Fra  Girolamo's  death. 

CoMMiNES,  Philippe  de.  "The  Memoirs  of  Philip  de  Commines, 
Lord  of  Argenton,"  etc.  (English  Translation.)  Ed.  A.  R. 
Scoble,  2  vols.     London,  1892. 

CoNTi,  AuGUSTO.  "Storia  della  controversia  di  Fra  Girolamo 
Savonarola  coi  Frati  Minori."  In  "Archivio  Storico  Italiano," 
Terza  Serie,  xiii.  pp.  177  sqq.  Firenze,  187 1.  An  extract  from 
the  unpublished  "Cronaca"  of  Dionisio  Pulinari  (O.F.M.), 
written  about  1570;  which  in  its  turn  embodies  the  account  of 
the  "  Cimento  del  Fuoco "  given  by  Fra  Mariano  da  Firenze 
(O.F.M.),  a  contemporary,  in  his  "Brevis  Chronica  Provinciae 
Thusciae." 

Cosci,  Antonio.  "  Girolamo  Savonarola  e  i  nuovi  documenti  intorno 
al  medesimo."  In  "Archivio  Storico  Italiano,"  Quarta  Serie,  iv. 
282  sqq.,  429  sqq.  Firenze,  1879.  A  valuable  essay  on  the 
fresh  light  thrown  on  the  story  of  Savonarola's  life  and  death 
by  the  documents  embodied  in  the  earlier  volumes  of  the 
"  Archivio  Storico  Italiano." 

Creighton,  Mandell  (Jatc  Bishop  of  London).  "A  History  of  the 
Papacy  during  the  period  of  the  Reformation,"  vol.  iii,  "The 
Italian  Princes,  14C4-1518."     London,  1887. 


xiv  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST 

"DiARio  Ferrarese  dair  anno  1409  sino  al  1502,  di  autori  incerti." 
In  Muratori,  "  Reruni  Italicarum  Scriptores,"  xxiv.  173  sqq. 
Mediolani,  1738. 

"Eliot,  George."     "Romola."     New  Edition.     London,  1878. 

FiLiPEPi,  SiMONE  (alias  Botticelli,  S.).  "Estratto  della  Cronaca  di 
Simone  Filipepi,  novamente  scoperto,"  etc.  In  Villari  and 
Casanova,  pp.  452  sqq.  This  tract  is  one  of  the  earliest 
biographical  notices  of  Savonarola,  being  referred  to  by  Fra 
Benedetto  da  Firenze  (see  above,  under  Benedetto,  etc.),  and 
also  by  Lorenzo  Vivoli  (see  below,  under  Vivoli,  etc.),  both  con- 
temporaries of  Savonarola. 

Gherardi,  Alessandro.  "  Nuovi  Document!  e  Studi  intorno  a 
Girolamo  Savonarola,"  Seconda  Edizione.  Firenze,  1887. 
This  collection  contains  documents,  derived  from  various 
sources,  which  throw  light  on  every  stage  of  Savonarola's 
career. 

Grauert,  Hermann.  *'  Savonarola."  In  "  Wissenschaftliche 
Beilage  zur  Germania."  Jahrgang  1897-98,  pp.  265  sqq.^  273 
sqq.,  283  sqq.,  297  sqq.,  305  sqq. 

Grisar,  Hartmann  (S.J.).  "  Zu  den  neuen  Publikationen 
iiber  Savonarola."  In  "  Zeitschrift  fiir  katholische  Theo- 
logie,"  iv.  391  sqq.     Innsbruck,  1880. 

GuASTi,  Cesare.  "  II  Savonarola  e  i  Lucchesi.  Nuovi  Docu- 
menti."  In  "  Giornale  Storico  degli  Archivi  Toscani," 
vi.  122  sqq.     Firenze,   1862. 

Guicciardini,  Francesco,  "Del  Reggimento  di  Firenze,  Libri 
due."  In  "  Opere  Inedite  di  Francesco  Guicciardini,"  ii. 
I  sqq.     Firenze,    1858. 

„  ,,  "  Discorsi    intorno    alle    Mutazioni 

e  Riforme  del  Governo  Fiorentino."     In  "  Opere  Inedite," 
etc.,  ii.  235  sqq. 

„  „  "Storia    Fiorentina."      In    "Opere 

Inedite,"  etc.,  vol.  iii. 

„  „  "Istoria    d'ltalia,"    vol    i.      Milano, 

1803. 

HoRSBURGH,  E.  L.  S.     "Jerome  Savonarola."     London,  1901. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  xv 

•'Irish  Rosary,  Thk."  Dublin,  1898.  A  series  (June  to 
October)  of  aaonymous  articles  on  *'  Savonarola." 

Landucci,  Luca.  "  Diario  Fiorentino  dal  1450  al  1516."  Ed. 
Jodoco  del  Badia.  Firenze,  1883.  A  continuous  and  strictly 
contemporary  record  of  events  in  Florence  by  an  ardent 
admirer  of  Savonarola.  Landucci  was  a  physician,  and  the 
owner  of  a  small  estate  near  Florence. 

LoTTiNi,  L.  Giovanni  (O.P.).  "Fu  veramente  escomunicato 
Savonarola?"     Milano,  1898. 

LuNGO,  IsiDORO  DEL.  "  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola."  In  "Archivio 
Storico  Italiano,"  Nuova  Serie,  xviii.  part  ii.  pp.  3  sqq.  Firenze, 
1863.  A  collection  of  letters,  chiefly  from  Paolo  Somcnzi, 
Milanese  envoy  at  Florence,  and  Francesco  Tranchedino, 
Milanese  envoy  at  Bologna,  to  Lodovico  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan. 

LuoTTO,  Paolo.  "  II  Vero  Savonarola  e  il  Savonarola  di  Lodovico 
Pastor."  Firenze,  1897.  Apart  from  the  controversial  merits 
of  this  work,  whatever  they  may  be,  it  is  valuable  as  containing 
very  numerous  extracts  from  the  sermons  of  Savonarola. 

Luri,  Clemente.  "Nuovi  Document!  intorno  a  fra  Girolamo 
Savonarola."  In  "  Archivio  Storico  Italiano,"  Terza  Serie,  iii. 
3  sqq.  Firenze,  1866.  A  collection  of  the  official  reports  of 
various  debates  in  the  "  Collegio "  and  the  "  Consiglio  de' 
Richiesti  "  concerning  the  affairs  of  Savonarola. 

„  ,,  "  Documenti    Pisani    intorno    Fra    Girolamo 

Savonarola."  In  "  Archivio  Storico  Italiano,"  Terza  Serie,  xiii. 
t8o  sqq.  Extracts  from  the  correspondents  of  the  Anziani  of 
Pisa  with  their  envoys  at  Venice,  concerning  the  affairs  of 
Savonarola. 

MacHardy,  E.     "Savonarola."     London,  1901. 

Mansi,  Joannes  Dominicus.  "  Monumentorum  Historicorum 
Appendix."  In  "Stephani  Baluzii  Miscellanea,"  etc.,  vol.  i. 
Lucae,  1761.  Various  documents  relating  to  Savonarola  are 
in  this  Appendix,  pp.  527  sqq.  See  under  Bernardino  da 
Lucca,  Burlamacchi,  Savonarola  (Lettere),  etc. 


xvi  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST 

MARcriESE,  ViNCENZo  (O.P.)-  Lettere  Inedite  di  Fra  Girolamo 
Savonarola,  e  Documenti  concernenti  lo  stesso."  In 
"Archivio  Storico  Italiano,"  Appendice,  viii.  73  sqq. 
Firenze,  1850.  The  "Documenti"  chiefly  consist  of  the 
correspondence  of  Becchi,  Bracci,  and  Bonsi,  Florentine 
envoys  at  Rome,  with  the  Signory  and  the  Ten  of  Florence. 
Cited  as  "  Marchese." 
„  ,,  "  Sunto  Storico  del  Convento  di 

San  Marco  di  Firenze."     In  "Scritti  Vari  del  P.  Vincenzo 
Marchese,"  vol.  i.     Terza  Edizione.     Firenze,  1892. 

Mariano,  da  Firenze,  Fra  (O.F.M.).  "Brevis  Chronica 
Provinciae  Thusciae."  A  portion  of  this  chronicle,  embodied 
by  Pulinari  in  "  Alcuni  ricordi,"  etc.  (see  below,  under 
Pulinari)  is  given  in  Conti,  "  Storia  della  controversia," 
etc.  (see  above,  under  Conti). 

Meier,  Karl.  "  Girolamo  Savonarola  aus  grossen  Theils  hand- 
schriftlichen  Quellen."     Berlin,  1836. 

MiRANDOLA,  G.  F.  Pico  della.  See  under  Pico  della 
Mirandola,  G.  F. 

Muratori,  Lodovico.  *'  Rerum  Italicarum  Scriptores,"  vols. 
xxiii.  and  xxiv.     Mediolani,  1733-38.     Cited  as  "  R.T.S." 

Nardi,  Jacopo.     "Istorie   di   Firenze."     Ed.   Agenore  Gelli,    2 

vols.     Firenze,  1858. 
jj  „  "  Breve   Discorso  .  .  .  per   informazione   delle 

novita  seguite  in  Fiorenza,  dall'  anno  1494,"  etc.     In  Villari, 

i.  Append,  pp.  Ixxv.  sqq. 
Oliphant,  Mrs.     "  The  Makers  of  Florence."     London,  1876. 

O'Neil,    J.    L.    (O.P.).       "Jerome    Savonarola.       A    Sketch." 
Boston,   1898. 
„  „  "  Was  Savonarola  really  Excommunicated  ?  " 

Boston,  1900. 

Parrnti,  Piero.  "Storie  Fiorentine."  A  series  of  extracts 
from  this  unpublished  chronicle  is  given  in  Gherardi, 
"  Nuovi  Documenti,"  pp.  112  sqq.  Others  are  given  in 
Ranke,  "Historisch-biographische  Studien,"  pp.  342  sqq.^ 
and  passim  in  the  notes  to  the  work. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  xvii 

Pastor,  LuDWiG.  "Geschichte  der  Piipste  ini  Zeitalter  der  Re- 
naissance," vol.  iii.     Freiburg,  1895.     Third  Edition,  1899. 

„  „  "  The  History  of  the  Popes  from  the  close  of 

the  Middle  Ages."  From  the  German,  etc.  Edited  by 
Frederick  Ignatius  Antrobus,  of  the  Oratory,  vols.  iv.  v.  vi. 
London,  1894-98.  All  references  are  to  the  English  Transla- 
tion, except  where  passages  are  quoted  from  the  original. 

,,  „  "  Zur   Beurtheilung    Savonarolas."      Freiburg, 

1898.  A  rejoinder  to  the  criticisms  of  Luotto,  Commer,  and 
others. 

Perrens,  F.  T.  *'  Jerome  Savonarola,  d'apr^s  les  documents 
originaux,"  etc.     Deuxieme  Edition.     Paris,  1856. 

Pico  della  Mirandola,  Giovanni  Francesco.  "  Vita  R.  P.  Fr. 
Hieronymi  Savonarolae  Ferrariensis,  Ord.  Praed."  In  Quetif, 
vol.  i. 

PiTTi,  Jacopo.  "Istoria  Fiorentina."  In  "Archivio  Storico 
Italiano,"  vol.  i.     Firenze,  1842. 

Procter,  J.  (O.P.).  "The  Dominican  Savonarola  and  the 
Reformation."     London,  1895. 

PuLiNARi,  DiONisio.  "  Alcuni  ricordi  delle  cose  di  fra  Girolamo 
da  Ferrara,"  etc.  (written  in  1578).  Extracts  from  this  un- 
published tract  are  given  in  Conti,  "  Storia  della  Contro- 
versial' etc.  (see  above,  under  Conti),  and  in  Gherardi, 
"Nuovi  Documenti,"  etc.,  pp.  351  sqq. 

[QuETiF,  Jacques.]  "Vita  R.  P.  Fr.  Hieronymi  Savonarolae 
Ferrariensis  Ord.  Praedicatorum,  Authore  111.  D.  Joan.  Franc. 
Pico  Mirandulae  Concordiaeque  Principe,  Notis  accurata.  .  .  . 
Additionibus  insuper,  Actis,  Diplomatibus,  Epistolis,  Scripto- 
rumque  monimentis  aucta  et  illustrata."  2  vols.  Parisiis,  1674. 
The  editor's  name  does  not  appear  on  the  title-page  or  else- 
where. The  "  Additiones,"  a  very  valuable  collection,  are  in 
vol.  ii.     Both  volumes  are  referred  to  as  "  Quetif." 

Ranke,  Leopold  von.  "  Savonarola  und  die  fiorentinische  Republik 
gegen  Ende  des  xv.  Jahrhunderts."  In  "  Historisch-biographische 
Studien,  von  L.  von  Ranke."     Leipzig,  1S78. 


xviii  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST 

Savonarola,  Girolamo.     "  Apologeticum  Fratrum  Congregationis 
S.  Marci  de  Florentia."     In  Quetif  ("  Additiones")  ii.  77  sgq. 

„  „  "Compendium     Revelationum      inutilis 

servi  Jesu  Christi  Patris  Hieronymi  de  Ferraria  Ord.  Praedic. 
Impressit  Florentiae  ser  Franciscus  Bonaccursius  a.  sal. 
mdcccclxxxxv.  v.  non.  dec."  Also  in  Quetif,  i.  216  sqq. 
(The  tract,  with  a  preface  by  Girolamo  Benivieni,  is  paged 
continuously  with  Quetif's  edition  of  Pico  della  Mirandola's 
"  Life,"  as  a  supplement  thereto.  But  the  supplement  appears 
to  be  an  afterthought,  as  there  is  no  reference  to  the  tract  on 
the  title  page,  and  "  Finis  "  occurs  on  p.  212.) 

„  „  "  Del  Dispregio  del  Mondo."     In  Villari 

i.  Append,  pp.  viii.  sqq.     Also  in  Bayonne,  iii.  5  sqq. 

„  „  "  De  Ruina  Ecclesiae."     A  Poem,  com- 

posed in  or  about  1475,  ^'^h  explanatory  notes  by  the  author. 
In  Villari  and  Casanova,  pp.  402  sqq. 

„  ,,  "De   Ruina    Mundi."      A   Poem,  com- 

posed in  1472.     In  Villari  and  Casanova,  pp.  400  sqq. 

„  „  "  De    Simplicitate     Vitae    Christianae." 

"  Libro  di  Frate  Hieronymo  da  Ferrara  Delia  Semplicita  della 
Vita  Christiana  Tradocto  in  Volgare."  Firenze,  1496.  Also  in 
Bayonne,  i.  211  sqq. 

„  „  "F.    H.    Savonerolae   {sic)    Ferrariensis 

Ord.  Praed.  de  Veritate  Prophetica.     Dyalogus."     S.l.s.a. 

„  „  Lettere.       (i)      "  R.      P.      Hieronymi 

Savonarolae  Ferrariensis  O.P.,  etc.,  Epistolae  Spirituales  et 
Asceticae."  Ed.  Quetif.  Paris,  1764.  (2)  "  Lettere  Inedite  di 
Fra  G.  S."  Ed.  Marchese.  (See  above,  under  Marchese.) 
(3)  "Lettere  di  Fra  G.  S."  In  Villari  and  Casanova,  pp. 
419  sqq.  (4)  Many  of  these  letters  are  also  in  Bayonne,  vol. 
iii.  (5)  Others,  of  a  more  public  character,  in  Quetif 
("Additiones")  vol.  ii.  (6)  Others  in  Mansi's  Appendix  to 
Baluzius,  i.  584  sqq.  (see  above,  under  Mansi  ) ;  Gherardi,  pp. 
278  sqq.,  etc. 

„  „  Opere.     (i)   "CEuvres   Spirituelles   choises  de 

Jerome  Savonarole,"  etc.  Trans,  par  E.-C.  Bayonne,  3  vols. 
Paris,  1879-80.  (2)  "  Scelta  di  Trattati  e  altri  Scritti  di 
Fra  G,  S."     In  Villari  and  Casanova,  pp.  335  sqq. 


BIBLIOGIV\PMICAL  LIST  xix 

Savonarola,  Girolamo.  "  Prediche."  The  following  are  the 
principal  series  of  the  published  sermons  of  Savonarola.  The 
various  sets  are  for  the  most  part  printed  separately,  and  it  has 
seemed  unnecessary  to  give  details  as  to  the  editions.  We  give, 
however,  the  dates  of  the  delivery  of  the  sermons,  so  far  as 
these  can  be  ascertained. 

On  the  First  Epistle  of  S.  John.     Advent,  1491  (or  1492). 
On  the  Psalm:  "  Quam  bonus."     Advent,  1492  (or  1491). 
"Super  Arcam  Noe."     Lent,  1494. 
On   Aggaeus.      Autumn  and  Advent,  1494. 
On  certain  Psalms.     Before  and  after  Lent,    1495. 
On  Job.     Lent,  1495. 
On  Amos  and  Zacharias.     Lent,  1496. 
On  Ruth  and  Micheas.     Summer,  1496. 
On  Ezechiel.     Advent,  1496,  and  Lent,  1497. 
On  the  Psalm  :  "  Domine  Deus  meus."     Ascension  Day,  1497. 
On  Exodus.     Lent,   1498. 

Numerous  extracts  from  the  Sermons  of  Savonarola  are  also 
given  in  Villari  and  Casanova,  pp.  31  sqq. ;  in  Villari,  i. 
Append,  pp.  xii.  sqq.,  xxviii.  sqq.,  and  in  the  course  of  the  work 
passim,  and  in  Luotto. 

„  „  "  Triumphus     Crucis :     De     Veritate     Fidei," 

s.l.s.a.     Also:  "The  Triumph  of  the  Cross."     Translated  by 

J.  Procter  (O.P.).     London,  1900. 
"li  Savonarola  e  la  Critica  Tedesca  ; "  an  Italian  translation  of 

articles  by  J.  Schnitzer,  H.  Grauert,    "Spektator,"    and    M. 

Brosch ;    and   of    the    passages    relative   to   S.    in    Pastor's 

"Gesch.  der  Papste."     Firenze,  1900. 
Schnitzer,    Joseph.       "  Savonarola    im    Lichte    der    neuesten 

Literatur."     Four  articles  in  "  Historisch-politische    Blatter 

fiir  des  katholische  Deutschland  "  (cited  as  "H.P.B."),  vol. 

xxi.     Miinchen,  1898. 
„  „  "  Die  neueste  Literatur  uber  Savonarola."     A 

second  series  of  articles  in  "  H.P.B.,"  vol.  xxv.  Miinchen,  1900. 
Tocco,    Felice.      "II   Savonarola   e    la    Profezia."      In    "Vita 

Italiana    nel   Rinasciniento "    (a    collection    of    lectures    by 

various  authors).     Milano,  1893. 
Villari,  Pasquale.     "  La  Storia  di  Girolamo  Savonarola  e  de' 

suoi    Tempi."     Nuova    Edizione.     Seconda    Impressione,    2 

vols.     Fireiize,  1898.     The  Appendices  to  these  two  volumes 

contain  a  great  mass  of  illustrative  documents. 


XX 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST 


ViLLARi,  P.  AND  Casanova,  E.  "  Scclta  di  Prediche  e  Scritti  di 
Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola,  con  nuovi  documenti  intorno  alia 
sua  vita."     Firenze,  1898. 

"Vita  Latina."     See  above,  under  Burlamacchi,  P. 

VivoLi,  Lorenzo.  "Giornate."  Lorenzo  Vivoli  was  that  faithful 
disciple  of  Savonarola,  to  whose  diligent  reporting  we  are 
indebted  for  the  preservation  of  most  of  the  sermons  preached 
by  him  from  T494  to  149S.  The  "Giornate"  are  a  series  of 
dialogues  between  "Soffia"  and  "  Didimo,"  in  which  "  Soffia  " 
{i.e.  Vivoli  himself)  gives  his  reminiscences  of  Savonarola. 
They  are  entirely  similar  in  character  to  the  dialogues  in  the 
"Vulnera  Diligentis"  of  Fra  Benedetto.  (See  above,  under 
Benedetto.)  Important  extracts  from  this  unpubUshed  tract 
are  given  in  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  Iviii  s^g.  ("  il  Proemio,"  etc.), 
and  ii.  Append,  pp.  Ixxi  s^(/  (''il  fine  della  terza  ed  il  principio 
della  quarta  Giornata "),  and  pp.  cviii  s^^.  ("la  sesta  Giornata"). 


NOTE. 

A  word  may  here  be  said  on  the  use  of  quotation  marks  throughout 
this  work.  They  must  of  course  be  taken  to  indicate  that,  where  they  are 
used,  nothing  has  been  added  to  the  words  of  the  writer  or  speaker  who 
is  quoted.  By  reason,  however,  of  the  prolixity  which  was  habitual  with 
Savonarola  and  with  some  of  his  contemporaries,  a  certain  amount  of 
compression  has  been  occasionally  used,  without  any  explicit  indication 
(beyond  the  present)  that  this  has  been  done. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

GIROLAMO   SAVONAROLA,    I452-81 

Paduan  origin  of  the  Savonarola  family,  i — Michele  Savonarola  settles  at  Ferrara,  i 
— Niccolcb  Savonarola  and  his  family,  2— Ferrara  under  Borso  d'Este,  3 — 
Works  of  Michele  Savonarola,  3 — Character  of  Girolamo,  his  disappoint- 
ment in  love,  4 — His  studies;  despondent  views;  the  tract,  "  De  Ruina 
Mundi,"  4f. — His  religious  vocation  and  flight  from  Ferrara  to  Bologna,  6 — 
The  tract,  "Del  Dispregio  del  Mundo,"  6f. — The  tract,  "  De  Ruina 
Ecclesia;,"  8 — Medic\ival  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse,  "Babylon"  and 
"the  harlot,"  9 — Religious  virtues  of  Fra  Girolamo,  9  f. 

CHAPTER   n 

tlUST    YliARS    IN    IHE    MINISTRY:      ROME    AND    ITALY    UNDER    SIXTUS    IV. 
AND   INNOCENT   VIII 

First  sermons  at  Ferrara  1481 ;  their  comparative  ill-success,  11  — War  between 
Venice  and  Ferrara,  dispersal  of  Dominican  students,  11  f. — Fra  Girolamo 
appointed  "Reader"  of  Holy  Scripture,  12 — He  preaches  at  S.  Lorenzo  in 
1482  ;  his  rival,  Fra  Mariano,  12 — Disappointment  at  failure  of  these 
sermons,  13 — He  preaches  in  Tuscany  and  Lombardy,  14 — The  Chapter  at 
Reggio;  Savonarola  meets  G.  Pico  della  Mirandola  (the  elder),  14 — The 
three  "conclusions"  first  announced  at  San  Gimignano,  14  f. — Summary 
of  Savonarola's  views  by  G.  F.  Pico  della  M.  (the  younger),  15  f. — Dr  Barry 
on  the  Papacy  under  Sixtus  IV.  and  his  successors,  16  f. — Character  and 
Policy  of  Sixtus  IV.,  17  ff. — Election  of  Innocent  VIII.  ;  the  "  Oratio  pro 
Ecclesia,"  21 — Condition  of  Rome  and  Italy  under  Innocent  VIII.,  22  f. — 
Despots  and  bastard  princes,  general  demoralisation,  23  f. — A  brighter  side 
to  the  picture,  24 — Lut  on  the  whole  the  evil  predominates,  25. 

CHAPTER  III 

THE    PREACHER:     HIS    TKACIIlNr.    AND    HIS    METHODS 

Savonarola  r<  turns  to  Florence,  1489  ;  his  lectures  on  the  Apocalypse,  26— Begins 
to  preach  at  S.  Marco,  August  1490,  26 — Difficulty  of  giving  a  fair  idea  of  his 
ordinary  preaching,  27  f.— Constant  and  tibundant  use  of  Holy  Scripture,  28— 

xxi 


tocii  CONTENTS 

And  of  the  "Summa"  of  S.  Thomas  Aquinas,  28— Artificiality  and  strained 
allegory,  29  f. — His  ascetical  system  compared  with  that  of  the  "  Spiritual 
Exercises,"  31  f.— The  tract,  "  De  Simplicitate  Vitse  Christiana,"  31 — 
Tendency  to  exaggeration;  undue  depreciation  of  ceremonies,  32 f. — In- 
vectives against  vice;  commendation  of  works  of  mercy,  34 — His  piety; 
devotion  to  the  H.  Eucharist,  and  to  the  B.  V.  M.,  35— Results  of  his 
preaching  ;  were  they  ephemeral  ?  36  f. — The  charge  of  exaggerated  asceticism 
itself  exaggerated,  38  ff. — Organisation  of  religious  reform  ;  processions ; 
the  bonfire  of  vanities,  etc.,  40-41— His  devices  characterised  by  a  certain 
extravagance  ;  danger  of  reaction,  42  f. — Reformation  of  the  children  of 
Florence,  43  ff.— Repression  of  gambling  ;  he  invites  the  Signory  to  exercise 
severity  ;  the  children's  police,  46  f. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON  THE   WATCH-TOWER  OF   ITALY:   THE   "COMPENDIUM   REVELATIONUM" 

Savonarola's  thoughts  mainly  concerned  with  the  prophetical  writings  of  the 
O.  T.,  49— He  conceives  himself  to  hold  a  special  prophetic  mission,  49  f.— 
The  question  as  between  a  genuine  mission,  delusion,  or  imposture  cannot  be 
evaded,  51— The  Church  has  not  decided  the  question,  but  the  "  Dyalogus 
de  Veritate  Prophetica"  has  been  placed  on  the  Index,  51— Summary  of  the 
"Compendium  Revelationum,"  with  notes  from  the  "Dyalogus,"  52-63— 
Manner  of  revelation,  52— God's  designs  upon  Italy,  and  His  choice  of 
Fra  Girolamo  for  His  messenger,  53  f.— Conformity  of  his  predictions  with 
Holy  Scripture,  54— The  vision  granted  to  Fra  Girolamo  on  ist  April 
1495,  54  ff.— Dialogue  with  the  Tempter,  55ff.— The  vision  of  the  B.  V.  M. 
and  of  the  Lilies,  61  ff.— The  question  as  to  possible  delusion  re-stated,  64— 
Savonarola's  own  tests:  (i)  Subjective  certainty ;  open  to  delusion,  65  ff.— 
(2)  Fulfilment  of  predictions ;  perhaps  accounted  for  by  natural  sagacity, 
clear  vision  of  supernatural  truth,  and  conjecture,  68  ff.— (3)  Good  results  of 
the  predictions ;  not  always  a  sure  test,  and  in  this  case  qualified  by  the 
admixture  of  undesirable  results,  70  ff.— (4)  Acceptance  of  the  predictions 
by  "all  good  men";  the  assertion  open  to  question,  72— Moreover,  the 
preacher's  habitual  flattery  of  Florence  casts  suspicion  on  the  genuineness  of 
his  claim,  72  f. 

CHAPTER  V 

SAVONAROLA   AND    LORENZO    DE'    MEDICI 

Savonarola  preaches  in  the  Duomo  at  Florence,  Lent  1491,  with  growing 
success,  74 — Lorenzo  sends  five  citizens  to  remonstrate  ;  Savonarola  is  firm, 
and  predicts  the  death  of  Lorenzo,  Innocent  VIII.,  and  Ferrante  I.  of 
Naples,  75— Sermon  in  the  Palazzo,  Easter  1491  ;  warnings  against 
"  Tyrants,"  76 — Lorenzo  sets  up  Fra  Mariano  as  a  rival  to  Savonarola,  77 — 
Savonarola's  reply  to  Mariano  on  "the  times  and  the  moments,"  78 — 
Character  of  Mariano,  79 — Savonarola  elected  Prior  of  S.  Marco ;  decline* 
to  visit  Lorenzo,  79  f. — Lorenzo  seeks  to  conciliate  Savonarola,  80  f. — Death 
of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici ;  the  rival  accounts,  81  ff. 


CONTENTS  xxiii 

CHAPTER  VI 

SAVONAKOr.A    AND    PIERO    DE'    MEDICI — SAVONAROLA    AT    BOI.OGNA— THE 
SEPARATION    OF    S.    MARCO    FROM    THE    LOMBARD    CONGREGATION 

Character  of  Piero  de'  Medici ;  no  trace  of  an  open  opposition  to  him  on  the  part 
of  Savonarola,  85 — The  vision  of  the  two  Crosses,  86 — The  vision  of  the 
Sword  of  the  Lord,  87 — Fra  Girolamo  preaches  the  Lent  at  Bologna,  1493 » 
the  story  of  Madonna  Bentivoglio,  88  f. — Project  for  the  se[)aration  of  S. 
Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congregation,  89  f. — Unfounded  conjecture  of 
Villari  regarding  the  mission  to  Bologna,  90 — An  incident  in  the  career  of 
Fra  Mariano,  90  f — The  Memorial  of  the  Brethren  of  S.  Marco  in  favour 
of  separation,  91  ff. — Savonarola's  letter  to  "una  Badessa  di  Ferrara"  on 
the  same  subject,  93  ff. — Political  interests  engaged  in  the  project  of 
separation,  96 — Negotiations  in  Rome,  supported  by  the  Signory,  96  f. — 
Papal  Brief  authorising  the  separation  extorted  by  Cardinal  Caraffa,  97  f. — 
Piero  de'  Medici  is  (apparently)  appointed  arbitrator,  98  ff. — Savonarola's 
letter  to  Piero,  100. 

CHAPTER  Vn 

THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO — EXTENSION  OF  THE  REFORM 

Torriano,  General  of  the  Dominicans,  supports  S.  Marco  against  the  Lombards,  loi 
— The  work  of  reform  at  S.  Marco  strenuously  taken  in  hand  ;  great  increase 
in  the  number  of  the  community,  102  f. — Extension  of  the  reform  to 
Fiesole,  Pisa,  Prato,  and  Bibbiena  (S.  M.  del  Sasso),  104 — Efforts  of  the 
Signory  to  extend  the  reform  to  these  convents ;  Savonarola  receives  the 
powers  of  a  Provincial,  105  f. — Correspondence  relative  to  Fiesole  and 
Pisa,  106  f. — The  establishment  of  a  colony  from  S.  Marco  at  Pisa,  107  f. — 
No  real  "freedom"  in  the  transaction,  which  owed  its  completion  to  political 
influences  ;  collapse  of  the  scheme,  109 — The  convent  at  S.  Maria  del 
Sasso,  109 — The  older  "Tuscan  Congregation,"  no — Correspondence 
relative  to  Prato,  establishment  there  of  Friars  from  S.  Marco,  inf. 


CHAPTER  Vni 

THE    FRIAR    AND   THE    FRENCH    KING 

Prudence  suggests  the  abstention  of  religious  from  Politics,  but  the  rule  may 
admit  of  exceptions,  113 — Two  phases  of  Savonarola's  political  activity,  113 
— The  French  invasion  under  Charles  VHI.  claimed  by  Savonarola  as  a 
fulfilment  of  prophecy;  the  new  Cyrus,  113  ft. — When  was  the  prediction 
first  made?  Probably  not  till  negotiations  were  already  on  foot,  in  1493, 
115  ff. — Strange  mistake  of  Savonarola  relative  to  his  own  course  of  preaching, 
117  ff. — Villari's  exaggeration  of  the  suddenness  of  the  news  of  the  invasion, 
119 — ^Yet  a  real  panic  was  caused  by  the  sack  of  Rapallo,  etc.,  120 — 
Responsibility  incurred  by  Savonarola  in  favouring  the  invasion,  121  ff. — 
Probable  aims  and  motives  of  Charles  VUL,  122 — Embassy  of  Piero  to 
Charles    VHL;    surrender   of    the    fortresses,    123  —  Popular    indignation; 


xxiv  CONTENTS 

Savonarola's  sermons  on  Aggaeus,  September  1494  ;  the  call  to  penance, 
124  f. — He  begins  to  protest  against  "questi  governi";  debate  on  the 
situation,  125 — Piero  declared  incapable  of  governing  ;  a  new  embassy  to  be 
sent,  126 — Savonarola  appointed  one  of  the  ambassadors  ;  his  speech  to  the 
King,  127  ff. — Was  he  justified,  or  deluded,  in  hailing  Charles  VIII.  as  God's 
agent?  129 — Piero's  return  ;  his  cold  reception  ;  his  flight  from  Florence,  130 
— Savonarola  speaks  of  Piero's  flight  as  the  work  of  God,  131 — Amnesty  and 
recall  of  Anli-Medicean  exiles,  132 — Charles  VIII.  at  Florence  ;  Savonarola's 
services  at  this  crisis,  132  f. — The  formation  of  the  Floly  League,  31st  March, 
1495,  133 — Efforts  to  induce  Florence  to  join  the  League,  134 — Savonarola 
favours  the  French  alliance;  the  vision  of  the  Lilies,  134  f. — The  Pope  pro- 
bably justified  in  resenting  Savonarola's  action,  135 — The  return  of  Charles 
VIII.;  Savonarola's  advice  to  d'Este  of  Ferrara,  136  f. — Savonarola  meets 
the  King  at  Poggibonsi ;  he  reports  the  interview,  138  f. — The  King  to  be 
punished  for  non-fulfilment  of  his  promises,  139  f. — The  revolt  of  Pisa; 
Savonarola's  views  on  this  subject ;  surely  not  a  matter  of  divine  revelation, 
140  f. — Savonarola's  letters  to  Charles  VIII.,  141  ff. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   FRIAR  AND   THE   FLORENTINE   CONSTITUTION 

Cardinal  Capecelatro  on  Savonarola's  political  activity,  as  contrasted  with  the 
abstention  of  S.  Philip  Neri  from  politics,  145 — Savonarola's  account  of  his 
drifting  into  politics  under  divine  guidance,  145  f. — Entire  abstention  was  for 
him  perhaps  impossible  ;  yet  he  seems  to  have  gone  too  far,  146 — The  return 
of  exiles  after  Piero's  flight  a  source  of  danger  ;  but  a  yet  greater  danger  to 
be  feared  from  Piero's  return,  147 — Savonarola's  salutary  and  opportune 
counsels  of  peace,  147  f. — A  constitutional  re-organisation  necessary,  in  which 
Savonarola  took  a  prominent  part,  148 — The  Florentine  notion  of  political 
liberty  ;  a  participation  in  active  government  desired  by  all,  148  f. — Nature  of 
Florentine  constitution  ;  the  Signory,  the  Ten,  the  Eight,  etc.,  149  f. — 
Disadvantage  of  frequent  changes  of  administration  ;  practical  safeguards, 
150 — The  Parlamento  as  an  ultimate  resource  ;  the  device  of  the  "  Balia"  in 
times  of  crisis,  150 — The  constitution  under  the  Medici,  the  Council  of 
Seventy,  151 — The  Seventy  now  abolished;  temporary  appointment  of 
Accoppiatori,  151 — Thanksgiving  for  a  peaceful  revolution ;  but  further 
changes  needed,  152 — Savonarola  lays  down  the  principles  of  a  suitable 
reform,  6th  December  1494,  152  ff. — Great  collection  of  alms;  popularity  of 
Fra  Girolamo,  154 — Soderini  recommends  the  establishment  of  a  Great 
Council  on  the  Venetian  model,  155 — Savonarola  supports  Soderini's  pro- 
posals ;  his  Advent  sermons  attended  by  the  leading  men  of  the  city,  155  ff. 
— Vespucci  opposes  Soderini,  but  the  latter  prevails,  158 — The  Great  Council 
established;  the  Council  of  Eighty,  158  f. — Fiscal  legislation  ;  the  amnesty 
and  the  law  of  appeal  from  the  "  Sei  fave"  proposed,  but  warmly  contested, 
159  ff. — Political  parties  ;  Ottimati,  Palleschi,  or  Bigi  (Greys),  Frateschi  or 
Bianchi,  160  f. — Da  Ponzo  opposes  Savonarola  on  the  question  of  the  "  Sei 
fave  "  ;  the  measure  at  last  carried,  162  f. — Details  of  the  measure  ;  Vespucci's 
change  of  front ;  Villari's  view  contested,  164  f. — Resignation  of  Accoppiatori ; 
abolition  of  Parlamento ;    the   latter    advocated   by    Savonarola,    165    f. — 


CONTENTS  xxv 

Provisions  against  return  of  Medici ;  Savonarola's  vehement  language,  167 — 
Its  fruits  two  yearsjlater  (1497)  in  the  case  of  Bernardo  del  Nero  and  his  com- 
panions ;  their  appeal  disallowed  ;  their  condemnation  and  hasty  execution  ; 
divergence  of  views  on  Savonarola's  attitude  in  this  affair,  168  f. — The  ques- 
tion again  raised  as  to  Savonarola's  political  activity  ;  a  great  opportunity ; 
Savonarola's  views  entitled  to  consideration,  and  probably  sound  ;  but  not  to 
be  upheld  as  alone  consistent  with  the  Gospel,  170  f. — Drawbacks  of  the  new 
constitution;  divergent  views  entitled  to  respect,  172(1. — Savonarola's  un- 
measured invectives  against  opposing  parties,  175  f. — The  constitutional  ques- 
tion bound  up  with  that  of  the  League,  176 — Savonarola's  services  to  Florence  ; 
his  mistaken  claim  to  a  special  divine  commission,  176  f. — The  affair  of 
Savonarola's  invitation  to  Lucca ;  probably  misinterpreted  by  Nardi  and 
Villari;  more  reasonably  viewed  by  Cosci  and  Guasti,  177  ff. 


CHAPTER   X 

PROPHET   AND   POPE   (l) 

The  Brief  Infer  ceferos,  25th  July  1495;  Savonarola  summoned  to  Rome,  180 — 
Savonarola's  reply,  31st  July  ;  his  "  reasonable  excuse  "  ;  the  "  Compendium 
Revelationum,"  181  f. — The  excuses  probably  valid  ;  yet  such  as  might  have 
been  overcome  ;  his  attitude  as  concerning  the  claim  to  a  prophetic  mission, 
182  ft". — The  Brief,  Quia  divmi  consilii,  8th  September  1495  >  Savonarola 
inhibited  from  preaching  ;  S.  Marco  restored  to  the  Lombard  Congregation, 
184  AT. — The  Brief,  Quani  multa  et  varia,  9th  September,  addressed  to 
Maggi  ;  Maggi  is  appointed  judge  of  Savonarola's  prophetic  claim,  186  — 
Savonarola's  reply,  29th  September ;  he  professes  submission ;  protests 
against  misrepresentation ;  maintains  his  right  to  prophecy  ;  appeals  to  the 
tests  of  his  mission  ;  objects  to  reunion  with  the  Lombards,  and  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  Maggi  as  his  judge,  186  ff. — The  reply  not  defensible  ;  yet  allowances 
must  be  made,  192  f. — The  Brief,  Licet  uberius,  i6th  October  1595 ;  prohibition 
of  preaching  maintained  ;  the  other  demands  of  the  former  Briefs  withdrawn, 
194  f. — The  harsher  expressions  of  the  Brief  admit  of  explanation,  195  f. — 
Savonarola  refrains  from  preaching  for  several  months  ;  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence on  the  affair ;  the  Signory  and  the  Ten  plead  the  cause  of 
Savonarola  at  Rome,  197  ff. — The  reform  of  the  children,  of  the  Carnival,  etc., 
198  f. — A  verbal  permission  for  Savonarola  to  resume  his  sermons  probably 
extorted  by  Caraffa,  199  f. — Savonarola  resumes  the  ministry  of  preaching; 
sermons  on  Amos  and  Zachariah,  Lent,  1496  ;  his  attitude  towards  the  Pope, 
200  f. — Further  correspondence  and  debate  on  the  subject ;  Savonarola  at 
Prato  and  Pistoia,  202  ff. 


CHAPTER   XI 

PROI'HET    AND    POPE  (2) 

Savonarola  at  Prato;  political  and  moral  reform  of  the  city,  2o6  f. — Corre- 
spondence of  Savonarola  with  Lodovico  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  and  with 
Galeazzo  della  Mirandola,  207  f. — Somenzi  hopes  to  win  over  Savonarola  to 


ri  CONTENTS 

the  League,  208 — Savonarola  returns  to  Florence  ;  sermons  on  Ruth  and 
Micheas,  May  1496  ;  his  mission  to  all  Italy  ;  warnings  and  invectives,  209  f. — 
"Scandalously  false,  or  scandalously  true  ?"  the  alleged  offer  of  a  Cardinal's 
hat  to  Savonarola  ;  he  wishes  only  for  the  red  hat  of  martyrdom,  210 — 
Distress  at  Florence  ;  the  war  with  Pisa  ;  waning  popularity  of  Savonarola ; 
his  sermon  on  20th  August  1496,  211 — Plot  against  Fra  Girolamo  ;  a  forged 
letter  to  Charles  VIII.,  212 — The  Emperor  at  Pisa;  alarm  at  Florence; 
Savonarola's  sermon,  28th  October,  212 — The  safe  arrival  of  the  corn  ships 
from  Marseilles;  revival  of  Savonarola's  popularity,  213  —  The  Brief, 
Refoimationi  et  Aitg/?iet!to,  7th  November  1496;  a  new  Congregation  "of 
the  Roman  and  Tuscan  Province"  established,  213  f. — Savonarola's  criticism 
of  the  Brief ;  Torriano  carries  out  the  measure,  but  not  unfavourably  to  Fra 
Girolamo,  214  ff. — The  "  Apologeticum  Fratrum  S.  Marci "  ;  the  project  of 
the  new  Congregation  declared  to  be  impossible,  unreasonable,  mischievous  ; 
obedience  not  due  to  such  a  precept,  216 ff. — The  "Apologeticum"  discussed; 
Professor  Schnitzer's  view  ;  it  cannot  be  sustained,  220  ff. — The  sermons  on 
Ezechiel,  Advent  1496  ;  the  Signory  and  the  Eight  exhorted  to  severity  ; 
"conventicoli"  to  be  suppressed,  222  —  Diplomatic  correspondence  with 
Milan,  Ferrara,  and  Rome  ;  Florence  and  the  League  ;  despatches  to  and 
from  Becchi  and  Bracci,  223  ff. — Bernardo  del  Nero  elected  Gonfaloniere ; 
a  hostile  Signory,  224 — The  sermons  on  Ezechiel  resumed.  Lent  1497  ; 
Savonarola  apostrophises  the  "profligate  Church";  and  threatens  to  cry, 
"  Lazarus,  come  forth  !  "  presentiment  of  impending  excommunication,  228  f. 
— Abortive  attempt  of  Piero  de'  Medici,  229  f. — The  "  Arrabbiati "  in  power  ; 
the  plague ;  preaching  prohibited ;  the  outrage  on  Ascension  Day,  1497,  230  f. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   EXCOMMUNICATION 

Savonarola's  enemies  active  in  Rome ;  Fra  Mariano  and  Gianvittorio  da  Camerino ; 
the  Brief  of  excommunication  {Ctini  sape),  13th  May  1497,  sent  by  Camerino, 
232 — Camerino  dares  not  deliver  the  Brief ;  dissensions  at  Florence  ;  the 
Signory  hostile  but  the  Ten  favourable  to  Savonarola ;  a  Committee  of 
Public  Safety  appointed,  233 — Becchi  ascribes  the  Brief  to  Caraffa  and 
Lopez  ;  the  Ten  write  in  support  of  Fra  Girolamo,  234  ;  Savonarola's  letter 
of  remonstrance  to  the  Pope;  the  tract,  "De  Triumpho  Crucis,"  234  f. — 
Publication  of  the  Brief,  Cutn  sape,  i8th  June ;  summary  of  its  contents,  235  f. — 
Savonarola's  manifesto,  addressed  "to  all  Christians"  ;  the  validity  of  the  ex- 
communication denied  ;  refusal  to  obey  vindicated  ;  threats,  and  appeal  to  a 
forthcoming  miracle,  236  ff. — Savonarola's  second  letter  on  the  excommunica- 
tion ;  the  question  of  its  validity  discussed  by  him  in  the  light  of  Canon  Law, 
239  ff. — Review  of  the  question;  canonists  do  not  support  Savonarola's  view; 
an  "intolerable  error"  may  vitiate  a  sentence  ;  what  is  an  "intolerable error"? 
unreasonableness  of  appeal  to  public  opinion ;  canonists  misquoted ;  an 
unsound  opinion  of  Gerson,  241  ff. — Savonarola  mistaken ;  the  authority  oi 
Torriano  and  Caraffa  ignored  ;  the  affair  casts  discredit  on  Savonarola's 
claim  to  a  divine  mission,  25 1  fi. 


CONTENTS  xxvil 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   LONG   SILENCE 

Savonarola  observes  silence  for  eight  or  nine  months  ;  friendly  Signories ;  the 
execution  of  the  Mcdicean  conspirators,  254 — The  plague ;  charity  of 
Savonarola;  "The  Triumph  of  the  Cross,"  and  other  writings,  255 — The 
Signory  repeatedly  write  to  Rome  in  support  of  Savonarola,  255 — Murder  of 
the  Duke  of  Gandia  ;  the  Pope's  momentary  resolution  to  reform  his  life  and 
the  Roman  court ;  Savonarola's  letter  to  him,  25th  June  1497  ;  diplomatic 
and  other  correspondence  ;  the  Commission  of  Reform,  255  fif. — A  Debate  on 
the  Excommunication,  5th  July  1497  ;  the  Signory  write  to  the  Pope  in 
favour  of  Savonarola,  262  f. — The  "Subscription"  or  joint  letter  of  Florentine 
citizens,  and  of  the  Brethren  of  S.  Marco  in  support  of  Fra  Girolamo  ;  these 
documents  not  sent,  263  f. — Debate  on  the  "Subscription";  unfavourable 
comments,  264 — Further  correspondence  ;  letters  of  Becchi,  the  Signory, 
Savonarola,  and  Manfredi,  264  ff. — Savonarola  to  the  Pope  "for  Absolution," 
13th  October;  professions  of  submission  with  refusal  to  obey,  267  fif. — Four 
letters  from  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  269  f. — Savonarola  officiates  publicly  on 
Christmas  Day,  1497;  special  mission  of  Domenico  Bonsi  to  Rome; 
despatches  from  him,  270  f. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

SEPTUAGESIMA    I498 

Christmas  1497,  and  Epiphany  1498  ;  Savonarola's  friends  are  scandalised  at  his 
public  exercise  of  ecclesiastical  functions,  272 — He  commences  to  preach  on 
Septuagesima  Sunday,  nth  February,  272  ff. — The  Excommunication  declared 
invalid  ;  the  Pope  a  "broken  tool";  the  precept  of  union  not  binding;  he 
will  never  seek  absolution;  "  S'  io  mi  fo  mai  assolvere  .  .  .  mandami  in 
inferno!"  273  ff. — Mercenary  clergy  who  will  absolve  for  money;  "Turn 
them  out  !  "  277  f. — Fulfilment  of  prophecy  alleged  as  a  proof  that  the  Excom- 
munication is  null ;  God  will  grant  a  miracle  in  His  own  good  time,  278  f. — 
Lawlessness ;  the  preacher's  words  no  hasty  utterances  but  the  expression 
of  his  deliberate  opinion,  279 — The  sermon  on  Sexagesima  Sunday,  i8th 
February ;  to  maintain  the  validity  of  the  Excommunication  is  heresy ! 
Vocations  to  the  priesthood,  280  f. — Inconsistent  action  of  the  Pope;  his 
enemies  seek  the  ruin  of  the  city;  S.  Paul  withstanding  S.  Peter,  379 f  — 
The  sermon  on  Quinquagesima  Sunday,  25th  February ;  the  idols  of  the 
Gentiles,  282  f. — A  solemn  appeal  to  God  to  work  a  miracle  ;  the  procession 
of  the  children  ;  Florence  on  the  eve  of  a  new  election,  283  f. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    DECL.'VRATION    OF    WAR  (i.ENT    I498) 

The  sermons  on  ICxudus,  Lent  149S ;  Savonarola  declares  war  against  "the 
wicked  "  men  of  Rome,  285 — Shameless  vice  in  high  places  ;  bastard  sons 
no  longer  called  "  nephews"  ;  wanted,  "a  Bull  to  authorise  a  virtuous  life," 


■iii  CONTENTS 

285— The  war  is  between  Christ  and  Satan  ;  Jacopone  da  Todi  and  Boniface 
VIII.,  2S6  f.— Savonarola  styled  "  a  son  of  iniquity  "  in  a  Papal  Brief,  287— 
The  "evil  influence"  to  be  resisted  ;  the  hosts  of  heaven  are  preparing  a 
hostile  expedition,  287  f.— The  Book  of  Exodus  affords  suitable  comparisons  ; 
the  Pope  likened  to  Pharaoh,  Savonarola  to  Moses,  his  enemies  to  the 
Egyptians,  288  f.— Fresh  invectives;  the  dogs  of  the  clergy;  bricks  without 
straw,  289 f. — The  prophetic  claim;  an  ambassador  from  God  ;  the  "Truth," 
290 fif.— Delay  in  fulfilment  of  prophecy  no  disproof  of  its  truth;  rival 
prophets;  persecution  a  test  of  truth,  292  f. — Some  noble  passages;  faith  a 
participation  in  the  divine  immutability  ;  false  devotion  ;  "  The  tabernacles 
of  God  "  ;  the  aspirations  of  the  Hebrew  pilgrim  ;  "  Misericordia  !  "  293  ff. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   POPE   AND   THE   SIGNORY 

Letters  of  Manfredi,  Somenzi,  Bonsi,  and  Taverna,  296  ff.— Attempt  on  Bonsi's 
house  in  Rome  ;  Bonsi  and  the  Ten  at  cross  purposes,  298  f. — More  letters 
from  Bonsi ;  the  Pope  to  the  Signory  (Brief,  InicIligenUs  superioribus 
tempo7-ibus),  26th  February  ;  an  interdict  threatened,  299  ff. — Letters  of 
Somenzi;  the  Carnival  (1498)  described;  election  of  new  Signory  hostile  to 
Savonarola,  etc.,  301  f. — A  debate  ;  representations  to  be  made  to  the  Pope 
on  behalf  of  Fra  Girolamo  ;  alleged  intention  of  the  Signory  to  precipitate 
a  crisis,  302  f.— The  Signory  write  to  the  Pope,  3rd  March;  further 
diplomatic  correspondence,  303  ff. — The  Pope's  reply  to  the  Signory,  9th 
March;  "vain  and  sophistical  arguments";  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See 
must  be  maintained,  305 — Cardinal  Ascanio  Sforza  on  Savonarola ;  the 
Bonsi  correspondence  continued,  306  f. — Savonarola  to  the  Pope,  13th 
March ;  a  plain  warning,  307. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

A    FULL-DRESS    DEBATE 

The  most  important  of  the  debates  on  Savonarola  held  on  14th  March,  308  ff. — 
Divergent  opinions  (i)  as  to  the  action  of  the  Pope,  who  has  "acted  in  a 
paternal  manner,"  or,  has  "treated  Florence  as  he  would  not  have  treated 
Perugia " ;  (2)  as  to  Savonarola  himself,  though  for  the  most  part  his  holy 
life  and  salutary  doctrine  are  recognised  ;  (3)  as  to  the  course  to  be  adopted 
in  view  of  the  threatened  interdict,  which  some  declare  to  be  of  small 
moment,  but  others  deem  of  the  highest  importance,  308  ff. — The  matter 
referred  to  a  special  committee,  315 — Savonarola  to  be  "persuaded"  to 
desist  from  preaching,  316. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE   LULL   BEFORE   THE    LAST   STORM 

Inadequate  apprehension  by  the  Ten  of  the  gravity  of  the  situation  ;  the  Signory 
play  for  a  crisis,  317 — Somenzi  distrusts  and  beguiles  the  Ten,  and  seconds 
the  efforcs  of  Savonarola's  enemies,  317  f. — Correspondence  of  the  Signory 


CONTENTS  xxix 

and  the  Ten  with  Bonsi  ;  indignation  of  the  Pope  ;  renewed  threats  of 
an  interdict,  318  f. — Letters  from  Somenzi  and  Tranchedino  ;  Savonarola  has 
ceased  to  preach,  but  the  Pope  may  yet  not  be  satisfied  ;  dissensions  at 
Florence  ;  Florentine  merchants  in  Rome  find  themselves  in  jeopardy,  and 
seek  protection  from  the  Signory,  319  f.— Bonsi  reports  the  Pope  still 
indignant  ;  eflicacious  means  must  be  taken  to  satisfy  him,  320  f. — Sforza 
and  d'Este  on  the  affair  of  Savonarola ;  indignation  of  d'Este  at  the 
dedication  to  himself  of  Pico's  "  Apology,"  321  f. — Further  despatches,  chiefly 
of  Somenzi  and  Tranchedino,  322  f. — The  Signory,  after  a  long  delay,  report 
to  the  Pope  that  Savonarola  has  been  forbidden  to  preach,  31st  March 
1498)  324 — Savonarola  determines  to  write  to  European  sovereigns,  exhort- 
ing them  to  procure  a  Council  for  the  deposition  of  the  Pope  ;  the  letters 
drafted  but  not  sent ;  preliminary  despatches  sent,  or  to  be  sent,  by  trusted 
friends  to  persons  at  the  several  courts ;  Mazzinghi's  letter  to  Guasconi 
intercepted,  324  f. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   ORDEAL   BY    FIRE 

Fra  Domenico  at  Prato  ;  he  is  opposed  by  Fra  Francesco  di  Puglia ;  Francesco 
challenges  Domenico  to  an  ordeal ;  the  challenge  accepted,  but  Francesco 
leaves  Prato,  and  the  matter  falls  through,  326  f. — Domenico  and  Francesco 
preach  at  Florence  in  Lent  1498,  the  challenge  repeated  ;  divergent  views 
as  to  its  precise  terms,  327  f. — Savonarola  ignores  the  challenge;  but 
Domenico  accepts  it ;  the  Signory  take  the  matter  up  ;  the  parties  at  cross- 
purposes  ;  Fra  G.  Ughi  and  Fra  G.  Rondinelli  offer  themselves  ;  Rondinelli 
and  Domenico  finally  chosen,  328  tif. — Savonarola  publishes  his  views  on 
the  ordeal,  331 — Difference  of  opinion  concerning  the  motives  and  intentions 
of  the  parties,  332 — Numerous  volunteers  on  the  side  of  Fra  Girolamo  ;  the 
fact  insisted  on  in  letters  to  Rome  ;  it  apparently  makes  a  deep  impression, 
332  ff. — Debate  on  the  subject ;  some  insist  on  the  folly  of  the  proceeding  ; 
others  urge  that  it  be  carried  through.  Cold  water,  or  warm  ?  "  Try  it 
on  all  the  Friars!"  334  ff. — Conditions  of  the  trial;  decrees  of  banishment 
in  case  of  failure,  336  f. — Preparation  for  the  ordeal;  Savonarola's  purpose 
to  preclude  treachery,  and,  as  alleged,  to  alarm  the  Franciscan  champion, 
338 f. — Arrangements  of  the  Signory  to  avoid  a  riot;  Doffo  Spini  and  the 
Compagnacci  ;  della  Vecchia  and  Salviati  with  their  troops  stationed  in  the 
Piazza,  339 f.— Both  parties  proceed  to  the  scene;  the  Dominicans  with 
pomp  and  ceremony,  the  Franciscans  more  quietly ;  which  is  attributed  to 
want  of  serious  purpose,  or  to  fear,  340  ff.  — Further  negotiations  ;  a  change  of 
garments ;  Domenico  proposes  to  enter  the  fire  with  the  consecrated  Host ; 
this  is  disallowed  ;  a  shower  of  rain ;  both  parties  to  go  home ;  Savonarola 
asks  and  obtains  an  escort;  popular  indignation;  taunts  and  gibes,  342  f. — 
Both  parties  claim  the  victory  ;  Te  Deum  at  S.  Marco  and  S.  Croce,  344  f. — 
Further  discussion  of  motives  and  intentions ;  were  the  Franciscans  in 
earnest  ?  345  H. — The  Pope  and  Cardinals  at  first  opposed  to  the  ordeal  ;  but  no 
effective  measures  taken  ;  the  Franciscans  subsequently  thanked  by  the  Pope  ; 
and  pensioned  by  the  Signory  ;  "the  price  of  blood,"  347  f. 


XXX  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XX 

THE    RIOT 

Palm  Sunday,  1498;  a  quiet  morning;  Ughi  to  preach  at  the  Duomo ;  the 
sermon  disallowed  by  the  Canons  ;  expectation,  suspense,  and  a  stampede, 
349 f. —Stone-throwing  revived  under  distinguished  patronage;  a  crowd  of 
boys  and  roughs  ;  attack  on  Cambini's  house ;  two  murders,  351  f.— The 
crowd  before  S.  Marco  ;  "  monkish  munitions  of  war,"  352  f.— A  skirmish 
in  the  Square;  "panting  like  a  bull,"  354  f.— What  were  the  Signory 
doing?  Decree  of  banishment  against  Savonarola,  355— The  crowd  drawn 
off ;  della  Vecohia  arrested  ;  looting  of  Valori's  house,  and  murder  of  Valori ; 
more  loot,  355  ff.— The  mob  returns  to  S.  Marco  ;  attempt  to  set  fire  to  the 
convent ;  the  great  bell  tolled  ;  Fra  Domenico  endeavours  to  stop  all  active 
resistance;  the  procession  through  the  cloisters;  six  hours' prayer,  358  ff.— 
The  skirmish  in  the  convent  ;  prisoners  of  war ;  dismissed  with  a  caution 
and  a  blessing,  360— Fra  Benedetto's  shower  of  bricks  ;  the  church  door 
forced  ;  a  midnight  fusillade  ;  adjournment  to  the  "  libreria  greca  "  ;  abandon- 
ment of  the  defence  ;  death  of  Panciatichi  ;  Gini,  wounded,  receives  the 
Dominican  habit,  360  f.— A  message  from  the  Signory;  Savonarola's  fare- 
well address;  he  receives  the  Holy  Communion;  Fra  Malatesta's  alleged 
treachery;  arrest  of  Savonarola  and  Fra  Domenico  ;  the  "Via  dolorosa,"  362  f. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

THE   TRIAL 

Reasons  for  dealing  at  length  with  the  trial  of  Savonarola,  364 — Incredible  that 
so  many  eminent  Dominicans  and  others  should  have  been  guilty  of  judicial 
murder ;  an  explanation  to  be  sought,  365— Some  propositions  which  may 
be  assumed,  365 — Many  good  men  believed  the  condemnation  just,  365 — 
This  not  accounted  for  by  the  falsification  of  the  evidence,  365— Savonarola 
had  himself  urged  a  strict  administration  of  severe  laws,  366— And  this 
especially  with  regard  to  political  plots,  366— The  project  of  calling  a  Council 
to  depose  the  Pope  a  real  plot,  367— A  sentence  of  imprisonment  at  Florence 
might  have  been  inadequate,  368— The  morality  of  his  act  not  to  be  judged 
by  actual  or  hypothetical  success,  368— The  main  facts  are  beyond  question, 
and  were  sufficient  to  secure  condemnation,  369— Falsification  of  the  evidence 
by  SerCeccone,  369 — Arrest  of  Savonarola,  Domenico,  Salvestro,  and  nineteen 
others,  370— A  secret  examination  decided  on,  370— Election  of  new 
magistrates  hostile  to  Savonarola,  370— The  commissioners  appointed  to 
examine  the  prisoners,  371— Deceptive  report  of  the  proceedings;  the  use 
of  torture,  371— Brief  of  Alexander  VI.  authorising  the  examination,  372— 
Papal  demand  that  Savonarola  be  sent  to  Rome  ;  debate  thereon,  373— The 
Signory  demand  and  obtain  absolution  from  censures  incurred,  374— The 
"process"  garbled,  published,  and  suppressed,  375— The  second  examina- 
tion ;  examination  of  other  prisoners,  376— The  confidence  of  Savonarola's 
adherents  shaken,  377— Letter  of  the  community  of  S.  Marco  to  the  Pope  ; 
they  disown  Savonarola,  378— Letter  of  Fra  Niccolo  da  Milano,  offering  to 
give  evidence,   379— Secrets  alleged  to  have  been  communicated  "in  con- 


CONTENTS  xxxi 

fession,"  379— Debates  on  the  examination  of  the  other  prisoners,  380  ff. — 
The  Signory  request  the  Pope  to  allow  the  execution  of  Savonarola  to  take 
place  at  Florence,  383— A  tithe  on  the  goods  of  the  clergy  granted,  383— 
Rumolino  and  Torriano  appointed  papal  commissaries;  their  character,  388 f. 

CHAPTER   XXII 

THE    DEPOSITIONS    OF    FRA    DOMENICO,    FRA   SALVESTRO,    AND 
NINETEEN    OTHERS 

The  Deposition  of  Domenico  and  the  rest  more  trustworthy  than  that  of 
Savonarola;  heads  of  examination,  385  f.— (i)  The  alleged  revelations  of 
Savonarola;  Domenico's  evidence  ;  Salvcstro's  vision  of  angels  ;  "one  h'^art 
and  soul  ; "  Salvestro's  visions  granted  for  the  use  of  Fra  Girolamo,  and 
adopted  by  him  as  his  own  ;  also,  on  one  occasion,  by  Domenico  himself, 
386  f. — Domenico  was  aware  of  Savonarola's  conviction  that  Alexander  was 
"not  a  Christian,  nor  a  true  Pope,"  388— Maruffi's  evidence;  talking  in 
sleep  ;  at  first  distrusted  Savonarola  ;  afterwards  reassured  by  him,  388— Fra 
R.  Ubaldini  on  the  internal  discipline  of  S.  Marco  ;  three  "gran  maestri"  ; 
discontent  and  murmuring ;  Savonarola's  reproof ;  recurring  doubts  ;  Sal- 
vestro's gossiping  habits  ;  Domenico  a  man  of  spotless  life  but  of  great 
obstinacy,  389  f.— (2)  The  letters  to  princes  ;  Mazzinghi's  testimony ;  his 
letter  to  Guasconi ;  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  invited  to  take  in  hand  the 
reform  of  the  Church,  391  f.— Del  Nero's  deposition  ;  his  letter  to  his  brother 
Niccolo,  393— (3)  Alleged  political  intrigues  ;  no  serious  charge  substantiated ; 
Salvestro  the  only  offender  ;  deposition  of  Pietro  Cinozzi  ;  Savonarola's  wise 
abstention  from  local  politics  ;  the  lobbying  of  Salvestro,  393  ff.— Depositions 
of  Lionello  Boni,  Francesco  Davanzati,  Ruberto  Ubaldini,  and  Domenico 
Mazzinghi,  396  f. — Depositions  of  Baldo  Inghirlami  and  Andrea  Cambini ; 
the  latter  mainly  concerned  with  the  affairs  of  Francesco  Valori  ;  unpopularity 
of  Valori ;  no  secret  intrigues  at  S.  Marco,  397  ff— (4)  The  "subscription" 
on  behalf  of  Savonarola  ;  evidence  of  Ubaldini,  who  was  employed  in  the 
affair  ;  the  first  signatures;  "barbers  and  clerks"  ;  some  of  the  opposition 
party  sign  ;  others  refuse  ;  Valori's  change  of  front ;  the  letter  never  sent,  by 
reason  of  the  plague,  401  ff. — Ubaldini's  evidence  supplemented  by  Salvestro 
and  Cambini ;  a  letter  from  Bracci  to  Ser  Bastiano  originated  the  affair, 
403 f. — (5)  The  ordeal;  Domenico's  firm  assurance  that  he  acted  under 
divine  guidance,  404  f. — A  tribute  to  the  character  of  Fra  Domenico,  405  f. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE    EXAMINATION   OF   FRA    GIROLAMO 

Motives  for  distrusting  the  alleged  confession  of  Savonarola;  the  use  of  torture ; 
the  falsification  of  the  evidence  ;  yet  the  documents  are  of  historic  interest, 
and  of  some  value,  407 — Vivoli  and  Fra  Benedetto  on  the  "  processes"  ;  the 
written  confession  of  Savonarola  ;  Ceccone's  notes  ;  the  official  copy  in  the 
Archives  ;  the  published  edition  ;  discrepancies  among  all  these  attested  by 
Vivoli  and  Benedetto,  407  ff. — Vet,  by  the  admission  of  Vivoli  and  Benedetto, 
the  falsification  concerned  motives  and  intentions  rather  than  facts  ;  they 
admit,  too,  the  vacillation  of  Savonarola  ;  are  they  independent  witnesses? 


n  CONTENTS 

409— Equivocation  or  prevarication ;  defended  under  the  circumstances  by 
Vivoli  and  Henedetto,  410  f. — The  first  process  ;  alleged  revelations  not  really 
such  ;  but  doubtful  whether  this  admission  is  genuine,  411  f. — Political  action 
of  Savonarola  ;  his  design  to  make  Valori  Gonfaloniere  for  life,  413— But 
he  refrained  from  all  meddling  in  the  details  of  politics  ;  names  of  his 
pohtical  friends,  414  f.— Dealings  with  Charles  VIII.;  and  with  various 
minor  princes  and  lords,  415  f.— Alleged  disobedience  to  the  Pope;  the  ex- 
communication ;  the  letters  to  and  from  ambassadors,  etc.,  416  f. — Relations 
with  Piero  de'  Medici;  the  threats  to  "turn  the  key"  and  "open  the 
casket";  the  prediction  about  "  many  barbers,"  418 — The  "subscription," 
or  joint  letter  ;  the  project  of  a  Council  ;  the  design  "to  do  great  things  in 
Italy,"  419  f.— The  ordeal ;  his  dislike  of  the  project ;  his  design  to  frighten 
the  adversary,  420 f. — The  garbled  attestation,  421 — The  second  process; 
omitted  as  of  minor  interest,  421— The  third  process  before  the  Papal  Com- 
missaries ;  application  of  the  torture  ;  principles  which  lay  at  the  root  of 
this  method  of  examination ;  they  were  approved  and  even  urged  by 
Savonarola  himself,  421  f.— The  interrogatory  ;  concerning  knowledge  gained 
in  confession  ;  concerning  dealings  with  and  letters  to  princes  ;  concerning 
the  assertion  that  Alexander  VI.  was  no  true  Pope  ;  loose  and  inaccurate 
terminology  used  by  Savonarola  and  his  companions  concerning  secrets 
known  "in  confession"  ;  his  dealings  with  women  in  relation  to  his  alleged 
revelations,  423  ff. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 


The  main  charge  against  Savonarola,  viz.,  the  attempt  to  procure  a  General  Council 
for  the  deposition  of  the  Pope,  abundantly  proved,  429  f.— This  attempt  a 
contra ventien  of  the  Bull  of  Pius  II.,  Execrabilis  ;  the  plea  that  Alexander 
was  not  a  lawful  Pope;  this  plea  not  supported  by  the  Bull  of  Julius  II., 
Cuintam  divino,  which  was  not  retrospective,  43of.— Dr  Grauert's  opinion 
that  a  simoniacal  election  to  the  Papacy  was  invalid  by  virtue  of  earlier 
legislation  ;  the  opinion  not  shared  by  the  present  writer ;  but  apparently 
held  by  medieval  canonists  of  distinction,  431— Savonarola  probably  in  good 
faith  ;  but  his  act,  as  that  of  a  private  individual,  not  defensible,  432  f.— 
What  was  the  duty  of  the  Commissaries?  The  extreme  penalty  legally 
incurred  ;  danger  of  a  schism  ;  the  unconstitutional  action  of  Savonarola 
compared  with  that  of  Bernardo  del  Nero,  to  whose  execution  Savonarola 
had  consented,  433  f. — The  letter  of  the  Commissaries,  or  of  Romolino  alone ; 
it  contains  calumnious  accusations  in  contradiction  with  the  evidence ;  yet 
not  all  its  statements  false ;  the  truth  sufficient,  on  Savonarola's  own 
principles,  to  justify  the  sentence ;  but  his  companions  might  have  been 
spared,  434  ff.— It  is  possible  to  acquit  Savonarola  of  grave  moral  fault  with- 
out condemning  his  judges,  436  f.— The  closing  scene  ;  Savonarola  in  prison  ; 
prayer,  meditation,  ascetical  tracts  ;  the  sentence  and  execution,  437  f. — A 
moral  victory  ;  Gordon  and  Kitchener  ;  Savonarola  and  the  Catholic  Refor- 
mation of  the  sixteenth  century  ;  fulfilment  of  his  predictions,  though  not  as 
he  had  foreseen  it ;  yet  his  errors  must  be  recognised,  439  f- — Savonarola  and 
the  saints ;  the  tragedy  of  his  life  ;  recognition  of  his  doctrinal  orthodoxy 
not  inconsistent  with  censure  and  punishment  of  his  acts,  439  ft. — Savonarola 
and  the  srdnts ;  the  "  FJenchus "  of  Benedict  XIV.;  Savonarola's  fame 
injured  -ather  than  enhanced  by  indiscriminating  eulogj^  441  f. 


CHAPTER  I 

GIROLAMO    SAVONAROLA,    I452-81 

GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA,  the  subject  of  this  biography,  was 
born  at  Ferrara  on  21st  September,  1452.  The  family  name 
first  appears  in  history  in  the  person  of  one  Antonio  Savonarola,  of 
Padua,  who,  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  distinguished 
himself  by  his  patriotic  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  Ezzelino  da 
Romano,  the  captain-general  of  Frederick  II.  in  Lombardy,  and  in 
memory  of  whom  one  of  the  gates  of  Padua  is  still  known  as  the 
Porta  Savonarola}  It  would  seem,  however,  that  the  ancestry  of 
Girolamo  cannot  be  continuously  traced  beyond  another  Antonio 
who  lived  about  a  century  later,  and  of  whom  nothing  is  known  but 
his  name. 2 

In  1440,  Michele  Savonarola,  the  great-grandson  of  this  second 
Antonio,  was  summoned  to  the  court  of  Ferrara  by  the  Marchese 
Niccolb  d'Este,  a  prince  who  like  others  of  his  time  loved  to  play 
the  Maecenas,  and  to  surround  himself  with  learned  men,  as  well  as 
with  brilliant  courtiers ;  and  here  Michele  became  the  progenitor 
of  a  branch  of  his  family  which  has  survived  down  to  the  present 
century. 2  After  the  death  of  the  Marchese  Niccolb,  in  1441,  Michele 
became  court  physician  to  his  successors,  Lionello  (t  1450)  and 
Borso  d'Este   (f  1471),  by  whom   he  was  both  esteemed  and  con- 

»  Villari,  i.  I. 

*  Cittadella,  L'Albero  Genealogico  del/a  fam.  di  S.,  in  Gherardi,  pp.  i  s^^. 

^  The  Ferrarese  branch  of  the  family  became  extinct  in  1S44.  The  Paduan 
branch  had  still  three  representatives  in  1877  (Gherardi,  /oc.  cif.),  and  some 
members  of  the  family  may  probably  still  survive.  A  diploma  granted  to  Michele 
by  Lionello  d'Este  commences  with  the  words :  "  Delectahantur  prisci  illi 
excellentissimi  et  Reges  et  Principes,  ut  quisque  magis  poterat,  apud  se 
clariores  et  in  quocumque  virtuiiim  disciplinarum  ac  bonarum  artium  genere 
praestantiores  virus  habere,"  etc.  (Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  iii. ). 

A  1 


3  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

siderably  enriched.^  He  had  five  sons,  the  youngest  of  whom, 
Niccol6  Savonarola,  was  the  father  of  Girolamo,  himself  the  third 
among  five  brothers.  Of  these,  Ognibene,  the  oldest,  followed— after 
the  fashion  of  the  day — the  profession  of  arms;  Bartolommeo,  the 
second,  has  left  no  record  ;  Marco,  the  fourth,  after  having  received 
the  priesthood,  followed  Fra  Girolamo  into  the  Dominican  Order,  where 
he  was  known  as  Fra  Maurelio ;  and  Alberto,  the  youngest,  became  a 
physician,  and  in  this  capacity  earned  an  enviable  reputation  for  his 
charity  to  the  poor.2  Of  Niccolb,  the  father  of  these  sons,  nothing 
whatever  is  known,  except  that  he  seems  to  have  shown  a  due 
solicitude  for  Girolamo's  education ;  2  and  it  appears  to  be  an 
altogether  gratuitous  conjecture  of  Villari's  that  he  was  a  spendthrift.* 
It  was,  however,  to  his  mother,  Elena  Buonaccorsi,  and  to  his  grand- 
father Michele,  that  the  future  preacher  was  chiefly  indebted  for  his 
earliest   training.^     The   age,  as  is  well   known,  was   one  of  great 

1  It  was  characteristic  of  this  "age  of  bastard  princes"  that  both  Lionello  and 
Borso  were  the  illegitimate  sons  of  Niccolo  d'Este.  They  had  been,  however, 
legitimised,  in  order  that  the  succession  might  be  secured  to  them.  Borso  d'Este 
was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Duke  of  Ferrara  in  1452,  on  occasion  of  the  coronation 
of  the  Emperor  Frederick  III.  He  died  in  1471,  and  was  succeeded  by  Ercole, 
the  legitimate  son  of  Niccolo.  Ercole  became  in  after  years  an  ardent  admirer 
of  Fra  Girolamo,  and  the  letters  of  Manfredi,  his  ambassador  at  the  Florentine 
Court,  published  by  Cappelli,  throw  a  good  deal  of  light  on  the  history  of  the  Friar. 

2  Pico  (Quetif,  i.  4)  says  of  Michele  :  "  Virum  egregie  pium  fuisse  Michaelem 
et  panperibus  nulla  mercede  viederi  solitum"  giving  as  his  authority  the  testimony 
of  his  own  mother,  Bianca  d'Este.  "Alberto,"  says  Burlamacchi,  "  fu  medico 
assai  dotto  in  quell'arte,  la  quale  esercitd  in  molta  carita,  medicattdo  per  Pamor  di 
Dio  gran  numero  di  poveri"  (p.  13).  Burlamacchi  (pp.  12,  13)  and  Fra 
Benedetto  (Villari,  i.  3)  enumerate  the  brothers  of  Savonarola  as  above.  Cittadella, 
in  his  Albero  Genealogico  della  famiglia  S.  (Gherardi  pp.  i  sqq. ),  gives  their 
names  in  the  following  order  :  Bartolommeo,  Alberto,  Ognibene,  Girolamo,  Marco, 
But  it  seems  clear,  from  Girolamo's  letter  of  farewell  to  his  parents,  of  which  we 
shall  presently  have  occasion  to  speak,  that  Alberto  was  younger,  not  older,  than 
himself,  for  he  specially  commends  him  to  his  father's  care.  Villari  follows,  as 
we  have  done,  the  authority  of  the  earlier  biographers,  as  against  Cittadella. 

^  Pico,  p.  6  ;  Burlamacchi,  p.  14. 

*  "  Fasso  i  suoi  giorni  bazzicando  nella  Corle,  consumando  il  patrimonio  che  suo 
padre  aveva  cogli  studii  e  colla  industriosa  perseveranza  raccolto"  (Villari,  i.  2). 
No  authority  is  given  for  this  statement,  or  for  a  somewhat  similar  one  which 
may  be  found  in  Marchese,  Sunto  Sidrico,  pp.  107-8.  Michele  had  enjoyed  a 
rich  pension,  as  we  learn  from  the  diploma  above  referred  to.  This,  of  course, 
his  son  did  not  inherit.  No  further  explanation  is  needed  of  the  alleged  circum- 
stance that  he  was  less  wealthy  than  Michele. 

^  His  indebtedness  to  his  mother  may  be  inferred  from  the  affectionately 
confidential  character  of  his  letters  to  her.  That  Michele  undertook  his  early 
education  is  asserted  by  Fra  Benedetto,  Pico,  and  Burlamacchi.  Michele  died 
about  1466  (Cittadella,  in  Gherardi,  p.  6J. 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA  3 

luxury  and  of  splendid  pageants,  designed  among  other  motives  to 
keep  the  people  in  good  humour,  and  to  reconcile  them  to  the 
despotism  of  their  petty  princes.^  And  among  these  princes  the 
Marquises  and  Dukes  of  Modena  and  Ferrara  were  noted  for  the 
magnificence  of  their  establishments.  Of  Borso  d'Este  Villari 
writes  :  "  It  may  appear  strange  that  we  should  say  that  he  obtained 
so  great  a  name  chiefly  by  the  luxury  of  his  court,  and  by  the 
festivities  with  which  he  continually  amused  the  people  of  Ferrara  ; 
but  it  is  no  less  true.  ...  He  was  always  attired  in  cloth  of  gold, 
and  the  richest  stuffs  of  Italy  were  displayed  in  the  dresses  of  his 
courtiers ;  .  .  .  even  his  court  fools  became  famous ;  and  the  printed 
descriptions  of  hisy^'V^'icirculated  from  one  end  of  Italy  to  the  other.'' ^ 
Michele  Savonarola  did  not  perhaps  altogether  escape  the  taint  of 
the  prevalent  subservience.  Tiraboschi  mentions  a  work  of  his 
in  praise  of  his  patron  Duke  Borso.^  But  he  seems  to  have  had 
an  eye  for  the  contemptible  side  of  court  life,  and  his  unpub- 
lished tract  entitled  De  nuptiis  Battibecco  et  Serrabocca  ("  Of  the 
marriages  of  Chatterbox  and  Closelips  ")  is  a  satire  on  the  frivolity 
and  buffoonery  which  were  rife  in  Ferrarese  society,  and  which 
disgusted  while  they  amused  him.'*  He  was,  moreover,  the  author 
not  only  of  some  medical  works  which  enjoyed  a  certain  repute  in 
their  time,  but  also  of  several  ascetical  tracts  ;  and  the  contempt 
which  from  an  early  age  Girolamo  Savonarola  manifested  for  the 
vanities  of  the  world  may  perhaps  be  in  part  ascribed  to  the  influence 
of  his  grandfather's  writings.  From  his  boyhood  Girolamo  was  noted 
for  his  love  of  solitude  and  for  his  somewhat  melancholy  disposition, 

1  "  La  plebe  vi  inclina  (J.e.  alia  tirannide)  molte  volte,  peich6  quando  il 
tiranno  ha  del  savio,  ha  sempre  cura  della  abbundanza,  e  la  diletta  spesso  con  festt 
e  giostre  e  giuochi  puhlici ;  e  gli  piace  la  magnificfnza  della  casa  e  corte  sua,  che 
sono  le  cose  che  pigliano  le  genti  basse"  (Guicciardini,  Del  Reggimento  di  Firenze^ 
0pp.  Ined.  ii.  213).  Of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  M:ichiavelli  writes:  "In  times 
of  peace  he  caressed  the  city  (of  Florence)  vviih  feasting,  ani  plays,  and  tourna- 
ments, and  representations  of  ancient  triumphs,  to  delight  and  entertain  his  people  ; 
his  only  design  being  to  see  them  pleased,  ihe  city  supplied,  and  tin  nobles  resprcted" 
(^History  of  Florence,  Eng.  Trans.,  1680,  p.  188.     Cf.  Pastor,  v.  lOl  sqq^, 

a  Villari,  i.  10. 

3  De  felici  progressu  illustrissimi  Borsi  Estensis  ad  Marchionatum  Ferrarics 
(Tiraboschi,  Storia  della  Letteralura  Ilaliana,  Firenze,  1 809,  vi.  447).  Borso 
d'Este  at  least  deserved  praise  for  having  successfully  maintained  his  dominions  in 
the  enjoyment  of  peace,  and  for  having  abstained  fiom  acts  of  personal  oppression 
(^Diario  Ferrarese),  in  Muratori,  Rernrti  Italicarum  Scriptores,  xxiv.  233). 

*  Cappelli,  p.  9.  Chatterbox  and  Closelips  marry  respectively  Madame 
Loquacity  and  Madame  Taciturnity. 


4  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

and  after  a  single  visit  to  the  ducal  court  he  could  never  be  persuaded 
to  set  foot  in  it  again. ^ 

When  he  was  approaching  his  twentieth  year  the  young  man 
experienced,  as  so  many  others  have  done  before  and  since,  the 
pangs  of  disappointed  love.  From  the  year  1466  onwards  the 
Savonarola  household  had  for  their  next  neighbour,  in  the  Via  di 
S.  Francesco  at  Ferrara,  a  distinguished  Florentine  exile,  Lorenzo 
Strozzi ;  and  Fra  Benedetto  da  Firenze,  alone  among  Girolamo's 
biographers,  has  left  it  on  record  that  Girolamo  offered  his  hand  to 
a  young  lady  of  the  Strozzi  family,  who,  according  to  Cittadella,  can 
only  have  been  Lorenzo's  daughter,  Laodamia.^  She,  however  ("la 
quale  fanciulla  era  nientedimeno  bastarda  e  non  legiptima  "),  forgetful 
as  it  would  seem  of  the  stain  upon  her  own  birth,  replied  with  some 
haughtiness  that  such  an  alliance  was  ill  suited  to  the  dignity  of  so 
illustrious  a  house  as  that  of  the  Strozzi.  The  retort  was  obvious : 
and  if  we  may  believe  Fra  Benedetto,  Savonarola  did  not  spare  the 
feelings  of  the  supercilious  maiden.  It  should  be  added,  however,  that 
the  incident  seems  to  have  made  but  a  passing  impression  on  the 
mind  of  Girolamo,  for  in  a  sermon  preached  many  years  later  he 
plainly  declares  that  he  never  had  a  mind  to  marry  (non  volsi  mai 
donna). 2 

In  the  meanwhile,  thanks  to  his  habits  of  solitude  and  his  earnest 
diligence,  Girolamo  had  made  remarkable  progress  in  his  studies, 
and  had  devoted  himself  in  particular  to  that  of  philosophy  and 
theology  after  the  approved  methods  of  his  time,  following  St 
Thomas  as  his  favourite  author,  but  holding  in  abhorrence  what  he 
regarded  as  the  vain  subtleties  over  which  the  humanists,  even  more 
than  the  schoolmen,  were  apt  to  waste  their  energies.  It  is  evident, 
too,  that  he  had  already  at  this  time  acquired  a  degree  of  familiarity 
with  Holy  Scripture  which  might  perchance  astonish  some  of  those 

*  "  Si  dilettava  assai  di  star  solo.  .  ,  .  Parco  era  nel  conversare,  standosi 
la  piu  parte  del  tempo  ritirato  e  solitario.  .  .  .  Solo  una  volta  in  vita  sua  entr6 
nelia  Rocca  dov'era  la  corte  del  suo  Principe,"  etc.  (Burlamacchi,  pp.  14-15). 

^  Fra  Benedetto,  Vulnera  Diligcntis,  in  Gherardi,  pp.  7  sqq.  Michele 
Savonarola  had  purchased  his  house  in  1452,  a  few  months  before  Girolamo's 
birth.  The  Strozzi  had  been  exiled  from  Florence  since  1434,  but  it  was  not  till 
1466  that  Lorenzo  Strozzi  came  into  possession  of  what  had  hitherto  been  the 
Palazzo  Paganelli,  which  was  separated  from  the  Casa  Savonarola  by  a  narrow 
lane.  Benedetto,  who  says  that  he  learned  the  incident  from  Fra  Maurelio,  does 
not  give  the  name  of  Girolamo's  itniamora/a,  but  she  has  been  identified  by  the 
genealogical  and  topographical  researches  of  Cittadella  (Gherardi,  pp.  3,  4). 

3  Gherardi,  p.  4. 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA  $ 

—if  any  still  survive — who  imagine  that  ignorance  of  the  Bil)le  is 
one  of  the  characteristic  marks  of  an  otherwise  well-instructed 
Catholic  layman. 

But  it  was  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  personal  inclination  that 
Girolamo  Savonarola  shunned  the  Court  of  Borso  and  of  Ercole 
d'Este,  and  avoided  the  dissipations  of  a  worldly  life.  His  poem  De 
Ruina  Mundi,  written  in  1472,  showed  that  he  had  looked  about  him 
to  some  purpose,  that  he  took  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  state  of 
affairs  throughout  Italy  and  elsewhere,  that  he  was  fully  alive  to  the 
worst  features  of  the  Renaissance,  with  its  revival  of  pagan  ideals 
and  pagan  vices,  and  that  he  augured  ill  for  the  future. 

"Were  it  not  [he  says]  O  Master  of  the  world,  that  Thy  providence  is 
infinite,  I  should  be  chilled  with  horror  on  seeing  the  world  turned 
upside-down,  and  virtue  utterly  travestied.  .  .  .  But  I  believe,  O  King 
of  Heaven,  that  Thou  dost  delay  Thy  chastisements  in  order  to  punish 
the  more  severely  those  who  are  most  guilty  ;  or,  perchance,  because  it 
is  near  at  hand.  Thou  dost  wait  for  the  day  of  final  judgment.  .  .  . 
That  man  is  esteemed  happy  who  lives  by  rapine,  and  battens  on  the 
blood  of  other  men,  who  robs  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  and  brings 
the  poor  to  ruin  ;  that  soul  is  deemed  noble  and  of  great  price  (gentil 
e  peregrina)  which  can  succeed  in  making  most  profit  by  force  or  fraud, 
and  which  despises  heaven  and  Christ  Himself.  .  .  .  The  earth  is  so 
overcome  with  wickedness  that  it  can  never  more  lift  its  head.  Its 
capital,  Rome,  lies  prostrate  (  A  terra  se  ne  va  il  suo  capo,  Roma)  never 
more  to  resume  its  noble  office  (of  being  the  head  of  the  world).  .  .  .  'Tis 
not  enough  that  Sulla,  Marius,  Catilina,  C;esar,  Nero,  should  have  injured 
her,  now  men  and  women  vie  with  each  other  to  inflict  some  wound  upon 
her.  Gone  are  the  days  of  piety  and  the  days  of  virtue  (Passato  e  il 
tempo  pio  e  il  tempo  casto).  .  .  .  Beware,  my  sons,  that  you  put  not  your 
trust  in  any  one  who  is  robed  in  purple  (Che  a  purpureo  color  tu  non  ti 
appoggie) ;  flee  from  palaces  and  stately  halls  (loggie),  and  take  care  not 
to  speak  your  thoughts  save  to  a  few  ;  else  you  will  have  all  the  world  for 
your  enemy." 

Filled  as  he  was  with  such  thoughts,  it  is  not  surprising  that  his 
mind  should  have  turned  to  the  religious  life.  But  from  the  writing 
of  impassioned  poetry  to  the  prose  of  resolute  action,  the  transition 
is  not  always  easy,  and  we  have  it  on  his  own  authority  that  at  first 
he  brushed  aside  the  idea  of  becoming  a  monk  or  a  friar,  and  even 
resolved  that  such  a  thing  should  never  be.  But  the  attraction 
of  grace  at  last  prevailed,  and  a  sermon  preached  by  an  Augustinian 
friar  at  Facnza  in    1474,  determined  him  to  take  the  once  dreaded 


6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

step.  Yet,  foreseeing  the  opposition  of  his  parents,  he  feared  to 
make  his  resolution  known  to  them,  and  it  was  not  until  after  Easter 
of  the  following  year  that  he  at  last  left  his  home  and  family.  The 
feast  of  St  George  was  kept  at  Ferrara  on  24th  April,  and  the  day 
was  observed  as  a  public  holiday.  Under  cover  of  the  general 
excitement  he  started  unperceived  for  Bologna,  and,  having  made 
the  journey  on  foot,  offered  himself  as  a  novice  in  the  Dominican 
convent  of  S.  Domenico.^  Having  been  received  there  he  immedi- 
ately wrote  to  his  father  a  letter  which  gives  some  insight  into  his 
character  and  disposition. 

"  The  motives  [he  says]  by  which  I  have  been  led  to  enter  upon  the 
religious  life  are  these  :  the  great  misery  of  the  world,  the  wickedness  of 
men  .  .  .  their  pride,  idolatry,  and  fearful  blasphemies  ;  whereby  things 
have  come  to  such  a  pass  that  no  one  can  be  found  acting  righteously. 
Many  times  a  day  have  I  repeated,  with  tears,  the  verse  : 

'"  Heu,  fuge  cruueles  terras,  fuge  littus  avarum.'"'^ 

After  telling  how  earnestly  he  had  prayed  for  light,  and  after 
suggesting  the  reasons  which  should  lead  his  father  to  rejoice  rather 
than  lament  over  the  resolution  which  he  had  taken,  he  informs  him 
that  he  has  left  "upon  the  books  in  the  window"  a  paper  which 
will  more  fully  explain  his  state  of  mind.  This  paper,  or  tract, 
which  has  been  brought  to  light  in  our  own  days,  is  entitled,  Del 
dispregio  del  Mondo  {Of  the  contempt  of  the  World)?"  Like  the  poem 
De  Ruina  Mundi,  it  is  an  impassioned  lament  over  the  miserable 
condition  of  the  world,  which,  for  its  cruel  oppression  and  shameless 
moral  corruption,  is  likened  to  Egypt  in  the  days  of  the  Exodus,  and 

^  Pico,  p.  II  ;  Burlamacchi,  p.  15  ;  Villari,  i.  16. 

'-'  The  letter  is  given  in  full  by  Villari,  i. ,  Append,  pp.  v.  sqq. 

'•  A  writer  in  the  Irish  Kosary,  July  1898  (p.  313),  made  much  of  the  ignor- 
ance of  this  tract  displayed  in  the  columns  of  the  Tablet.  But  when  the  earlier 
articles  of  the  Tablet  series  were  written,  the  author  of  them  had  access  only  to 
Horner's  English  translation  of  the  first  edition  of  Villari's  Life,  which  does  not 
contain  the  Dispregio ;  and  it  was  perhaps  in  some  degree  excusable  that  he 
should  be  unaware  that  the  text  had  been  given  in  full  in  the  Appendix  to  the 
second  edition  of  the  Italian  original.  He  did  not,  however,  merely  quote 
"Villari's  opinion  of  it,"  but  reproduced  that  writer's  summary  of  the  tract,  the 
accuracy  of  which  might,  he  thought,  fairly  be  assumed.  The  Dispregio  was  first 
published  by  Capponi  in  1862  (not  1868,  as  Bayonne  and  the  writer  in  the  Irish 
Rosary  incorrectly  state),  in  an  edition  of  only  eighty  copies.  It  next  appeared  in  a 
French  translation  in  Kayonne's  CEuvres  Spirit uelles  .  .  .  de  /.  S.,  iii.  6  sg(/. 
(pul)lished  in  i88o)  ;  and,  lastly,  the  original  text  was  made  generally  accessible  by 
\'illari  in  his  second  edition  (1S87).  In  the  present  memoir  all  references  are  to 
the  recent  reprint  (1898)  of  this  second  edition  of  Villari. 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA  7 

to  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.     Vice,  says  the  writer,  is  praised,  virtue 
is  scorned  and  derided. 

"  He  who  Hves  chastely  and  modestly  is  called  a  man  of  no  spirit  ;  he 
who  believes  and  hopes  in  God  is  deemed  a  simpleton.  But  the  man 
who  knows  how  to  plunder  orphans  and  widows  is  called  pioident,  he  who 
can  hoard  the  greatest  store  of  gold  is  deemed  wise,  and  the  man  who 
can  devise  the  most  cunning  fashion  of  robbing  his  neighbour  is  looked 
upon  with  respect.  Everywhere  does  wickedness  abound  (omnia  sunt 
plena  impietate)  ;  everywhere  does  usury  and  robbery  flourish  ;  on  every 
side  are  heard  horrible  and  filthy  blasphemies  ;  the  most  abominable 
vices  are  everywhere  freely  practised.  'There  is  not  one  who  acts 
aright,  no,  not  one.'  And  yet  there  are  simple  folk,  unlettered  rustics, 
and  untutored  women,  who  put  to  shame  the  vaunted  but  false  wisdom 
of  the  world  ;  boys  and  youths  who  flee  from  the  world  and  its  lusts." 
Why  should  not  he — the  writer — follow  their  example  ?  Why  should  not 
he  rise  up  and,  together  with  the  little  ones  of  Christ,  take  his  flight  from 
these  scenes  of  cruelty,  these  haunts  of  unbridled  avarice  and  ambition? 
Let  the  blind  votaries  of  the  world  pass  judgment  on  themselves,  let  them 
judgft  whether  the  end  of  the  world  be  not  at  hand  (an  novissimum  tempus 
sit).  As  for  himself,  he  will  flee  from  Egypt  and  from  Pharaoh,  and  will 
sing  with  Moses,  Ccuitevius  Domino,  and  the  rest,  and  with  Simeon  : 
Nunc  dimifiis  scrvum  tuum  .  .  .  in  pace.  ^ 

It  must,  we  think,  be  admitted  that  the  words  of  this  tract  hardly 
justify  the  remark  of  Villari :  "  He  besought  the  Lord  that  the 
waters  of  the  Red  Sea  might  open  a  passage  for  the  good  and  might 
drown  the  wicked  ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  cannot  conceal  the 
hope  that  the  rod  which  is  to  command  these  waters  might  one  day 
be  put  into  his  hands."  The  canticle  of  Moses,  which  Savonarola 
quotes,  celebrates  an  accomplished  fact  rather  than  expresses  a  wish  ; 
and  of  the  alleged  hope  that  the  rod  of  command  might  be  put  into 
his  own  hands  there  is  no  trace  whatever.-  But  it  is  perhaps  not 
hypercritical  to  see,  both  in  the  De  Riiina  Mundi  and  in  the 
Dispregio,  traces  of  a  constitutional  tendency  to  take  a  pessimistic 
view  of  the  state  of  affairs ;  a  tendency  which  is  not,  certainly, 
inconsistent  with  great  personal  holiness,  but  which,  if  not  kept  in 

^  Villari,  i..  Append,  pp.  viii.  sqq. 

2  The  Irish  Rosary  (p.  314)  rightly  calls  attention  to  Villari's  inaccuracy  here. 
And  it  is  right  that  we  should  entirely  withdraw  our  own  remark  (based  on 
Villari's  error)  about  the  alleged  indication  of  "  self-concentration  "  and  "  incipient 
pride."  On  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  accept  our  critic's  description  of  the 
Dispregio,  as  "  nothing  else  than  a  texture  of  Scripture  florets,  beautifully  woven, 
taken  chiefly  from  the  canticle  of  Moses  .  .  .  and  the  'Nunc  dimittis'of  Holy 
Simeon."  The  two  canticles  in  question  are  quoted  only  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
little  document,  whose  "soul-stirring  pages"  are,  we  may  observe,  two  in  number 
(or  three  in  Bayonne's  French  translation). 


•8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

due  check,  might  well  lead,  in  later  days,  to  regrettable  exaggeration 
of  speech,  and  possibly  also  to  imprudence  in  action.  The  present 
writer  has  been  charged  with  "betraying  la  mania  della  critica — a 
carping  spirit,"  because  it  has  seemed  to  him  that  in  the  earliest 
utterances  of  Savonarola  some  presage  of  his  future  might  be  found. 
But  whoever  is  of  opinion  that  in  his  later  years  Savonarola  erred, 
and  also  that  his  error  was  in  great  measure  the  outcome  of  his 
natural  disposition,  will  obviously  be  led  to  look  for  traces  of  that 
natural  disposition  even  at  the  outset  of  his  career.  Rightly  or 
wrongly,  it  is  clear  that  from  his  early  youth  Savonarola  took  an 
exceedingly  gloomy  view  of  the  condition  of  his  times,  and  if  there 
is  any  truth  in  the  opinion  that  his  subsequent  schemes  of  reform 
were  in  some  cases  rather  drastic,  this  shortcoming  cannot  be 
altogether  dissociated  from  the  pessimistic  tendency  revealed  by  the 
poem  and  the  tract,  of  which  we  have  given  the  substance. 

For  seven  years  Fra  Girolamo  lived  in  retirement  in  his  convent, 
yet  not  without  an  earnest  outlook  upon  the  Church  at  large,  as 
is  attested  by  his  ode  De  Ruina  Ecdesiae.  In  this  short  piece  the 
poet  addresses  himself  to  the  Church,  personified  as  a  chaste  virgin 
of  venerable  aspect,  to  whom  he  feelingly  complains  that  the  virtues 
of  old  times  are  no  more  ;  no  more  do  preachers  tell  the  truth  boldly  ; 
no  more  do  holy  doctors  shed  abroad  the  light  of  sound  doctrines ; 
no  more  do  saintly  contemplatives,  devout  virgins,  zealous  priests 
and  bishops,  adorn  the  Church  with  their  virtues.  "Thus  spake  I," 
he  says,  "  to  that  venerable  and  loving  Mother  (la  pia  Madre  antica), 
out  of  the  great  desire  that  I  feel  to  weep  without  ceasing  (per  gran 
desio  che  ho  di  pianger  sempre)."  Then  the  holy  Virgin  leads  him 
into  her  cave,  and  in  turn  pours  forth  her  own  lament.  Hither  she 
has  retired  ever  since  she  saw  a  proud  harlot  (the  spirit  of  worldly 
ambition)  enter  the  city  of  Rome,  and  bring  everything  to  ruin. 
And  when  the  youthful  novice  expresses  the  wish  that  these  wings  of 
pride  could  be  clipped  or  broken,  the  answer  is  : 

"Tu  piangi  e  taci  ;  e  questo  meglio  parmi."^ 

'  "  Do  thou  weep  and  hold  thy  peace  ;  so  seemeth  best  to  me." 
The  whole  poem  is  expressed  in  highly  figurative  language,  to  which,  however,  the 
key  is  supplied  in  a  series  of  notes  by  Savonarola  himself.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted 
that  Villari  and  Casanova  {Scelia,  pp.  402  sqq.)  have  given  only  a  few  stanzas  of 
this  canzone,  with  the  corresponding  notes.  The  very  limited  edition  of  the  poems 
by  Guasti  is  practically  inaccessible,  and  we  have  only  (in  addition  to  the  extracts 
in  Villari  and  Casanova)  the  French  translation  by  Bayonne,  who  does  not  give 
the  notes. 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA  ^ 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  "proud  harlot"  of  Savonarola's 
poem  is  not  the  Church  of  Rome,  however  corrupted  in  the  person 
of  her  rulers,  but  the  pride,  luxury,  avarice,  and  ambition  which  had 
so  taken  possession  of  the  city  as  (in  his  view)  to  rule  it  like  a 
strumpet-queen  This  idea  of  describing,  under  the  image  of  the 
"scarlet  woman  "  of  the  Apocalypse,  the  worldly  spirit  which  had 
become  dominant  in  Rome,  did  not  originate  with  Savonarola. 
According  to  Felice  Tocco,  Piero  Olivi,  just  two  hundred  years 
previously,  had  spoken  of  "the  carnal  church"  as  "  I'empia 
Babilonia";!  and  Petrarch  had  spoken  of  Avignon,  then  the 
residence  of  the  Popes,  as  "I'avara  Babilonia,  fontana  di  dolore, 
albergo  d'ira,  scuola  d'errori,  tempio  d'eresie."^  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  Fra  Girolamo  here  strikes  the  keynote  that  was  to 
ring  through  so  many  of  those  later  utterances  in  which  with 
unsparing  severity  he  inveighed  against  the  vices  of  the  Roman 
court.  We  are  not  now  passing  judgment  upon  these  invectives, 
but  merely  pointing  out  that  they  have  their  root  in  the  preacher's 
earliest  writings. 

That  Fra  Girolamo  from  the  outset  of  his  religious  life  distin- 
guished himself  by  the  most  exact  observance  of  the  vows  and  of  the 
rules  of  his  Order,  is  the  uncontradicted  testimony  of  his  earliest 
biographers.  His  practice  of  poverty,  say  Cinozzi  and  P.urlamacchi, 
was  most  rigid,  and  he  deeply  deplored  the  relaxations  in  this 
matter  which  had  crept  into  the  convents  of  the  Order.  His  purity 
was  altogether  beyond  reproach  or  even  the  suspicion  of  a  fault.  To 
his  superiors  he  was,  at  least  in  these  early  days,  most  docile  in  all 
things,  and  his  spirit  of  humble  obedience  showed  itself  in  the 
deference  with  which  he  treated  not  merely  his  equals  but  even  his 
inferiors.  A  father  of  great  authority,  who  had  been  his  confessor  for 
a  considerable  time,  and  whom  Burlamacchi  declares  to  have  been 

\  "  Cosi  fa  ci'uopo  clie  I'empia  BabilonLi 
Nel  profondo  del  mare  si  sommerga." 

That  "I'empia  Babilonia  "  s'ignifies  "  la  chiesa  carnale  "  is  Tocco's  comment, 
which  may  presumably  be  trusted. 

-  Felice  Tocco,  II  Savonarola  e  la  Profezia,  one  of  a  collection  of  conferences 
published  under  the  general  title  of  Vila  Italiana  ml  Rinasciniento  (Milan,  1893  ; 
pp.  354-57).  We  are  glad  to  be  able  to  correct  an  error  into  which  we  were  led 
while  preparing  the  articles  on  Savonarola  for  the  Tablet.  In  one  of  these  we 
had  explained  (with  Villari,  i.  24),  that  by  the  ''  proud  harlot,"  Savonarola  meant 
Rome.  As  the  writer  in  the  Irhh  Rosa>y  has  pointed  out,  Fra  Girolamo's  own 
interpretation  of  his  own  words  (which  we  had  not  then  seen)  must  be  taken  as 
decisive. 


!0  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

the  B.  Sebastian  Maggi,  is  said  to  have  declared — with  a  freedom 
which  a  confessor  in  our  days  would  hesitate  to  permit  himself — 
that  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  was  guilty  even  of  venial  sin 
deliberately  committed.^  As  an  instance,  by  no  means  without 
significance,  of  his  solid  virtue,  we  may  mention  that  whereas 
already  before  his  entrance  upon  the  religious  life  he  had  con- 
ceived a  marked  distaste  for  the  study  of  metaphysics,  it  is  clear 
from  his  published  writings  on  the  subject  that  he  devoted  himself 
to  such  studies  with  all  the  zeal  which  the  most  perfect  obedience 
could  prompt. 2  All  this  being  so,  it  is  no  matter  for  surprise  that 
within  seven  years  of  the  commencement  of  his  novitiate  his  superiors 
appointed  him  to  the  responsible  post  of  "lector"  to  the  novices,  a 
position  which  he  filled  first  at  Bologna  and  subsequently — as  will 
hereafter  appear — at  Florence.  At  the  same  time,  it  may  be  per- 
missible to  surmise  that  it  might  have  been  better  for  himself, 
personally,  had  a  longer  period  elapsed  before  he  was  advanced  to 
such  a  post  of  authority.  It  seems  to  us  that  if  ever  there  was  a 
man  who  needed  the  guidance  of  another,  not  necessarily  of  higher 
intellectual  gifts  or  superior  virtue,  but  of  a  more  evenly-balanced 
judgment  and  less  impressionable  character  than  himself,  that  man 
was  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola;  and  to  the  lack  of  such  masterful 
guidance  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  religious  life  may  not  improbably 
be  attributed,  at  least  in  some  degree,  the  aberrations  (as  we  cannot 
but  regard  them)  of  his  later  career.'^ 

1  Cinozzi,  p.  4:  Burlamacchi,  pp.  20,  sqq.  ^  Burlamacchi,  p.  21. 

2  Here  again  we  have  had  the  misfortune  to  incur  the  strictures  of  our 
courteous  critic  in  the  Irish  Rosary,  who  takes  us  to  task  for  our  presumption  in 
venturing  to  iind  fault  with  the  action  of  men  so  distinguished  for  hoUness  of  life 
and  other  high  qualities  as  Maggi  and  Bandello  {Irish  Rosary,  p.  317).  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  that  Maggi  was  precisely  the  man  to  whom,  a  few  years 
later,  Savonarola  refused  to  submit  when  ordered  to  do  so  by  the  Pope,  and  that 
Bandello,  as  General  of  the  Order,  felt  himself  obliged  to  inhibit  the  paying'  of 
posthumous  honours  to  Savonarola  (Marchese,  Sunto  Storico,  p.  106).  It  is  at 
least  possible  that  in  after  days  both  these  distinguished  men  saw  reason  to  regret 
the  somewhat  rapid  promotion  of  Fra  Girolamo  to  a  position  of  trust  and  authority. 
Of  course,  if  Savonarola's  subsequent  action  be  judged  capable  of  a  complete  vindi- 
cation, there  is  no  need  to  call  in  question  the  prudence  of  his  superiors  in  the 
matter  of  his  first  appointments.  In  this  case  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  regret 
the  subsequent  blindness  of  these  same  superiors  ;  a  consequence  to  which  it  is 
po?sihle  that  our  critic  has  not  fully  adverted.  But  if  it  be  lawful  to  hold,  as  many 
have  held,  that  Savonarola  afterwards  fell,  not  necessarily  into  any  grave  fault, 
but  into  more  than  one  serious  error  of  judgment  and  of  conduct,  then  it 
is  not  superfluous  to  confider  whether  the  way  may  have  been  in  some  degiee 
paved  for  such  a  lapse  in  the  circumstances  of  the  earlier  years  of  his  religious  life. 


CHAPTER   II 

FIRST    YEARS    IN   THE    MINISTRY  :    ROME   AND    ITALY   UNDER 
SIXTUS    IV.    AND    INNOCENT    VIII. 

IT  was  in  1481  that  Fra  Girolamo  began  to  exercise  the  ministry 
of  preaching.  His  first  course  of  sermons  was  delivered  in  the 
church  of  Santa  Maria  degli  Angeli  at  Ferrara.  Eight  years  after- 
wards, in  a  letter  written  to  his  mother  from  Pavia,  where  he  was 
then  engaged,  he  implies  that  his  work  for  souls  in  his  native  city 
had  not  met  with  that  measure  of  visible  success  which  might  have 
been  desired.  "  Many  a  time  it  has  been  said  to  me  at  Ferrara,  by 
those  who  saw  me  employed  in  this  work  of  travelling  from  city 
to  city  [to  preach]  that  our  brethren  must  be  greatly  in  need  of 
men" — z>.  of  competent  preachers — "as  who  should  say:  'If  they 
set  so  worthless  a  man  as  you  to  so  great  a  task,  they  must  indeed 
be  in  need  of  workers.'"^  The  principle,  he  declares,  still  holds 
good  that  no  man  is  a  prophet  in  his  own  country.  But  it  would 
obviously  be  ungenerous  and  unfair  to  press  too  closely  such  an 
avowal  on  the  part  of  a  man  whose  sensitiveness  to  any  appearance 
of  ill-success  was  the  counterpart  of  his  earnest  zeal ;  and  we  may 
feel  sure  that  the  good  seed  sown  at  Ferrara  did  not  fail  to  bear 
good  fruit,  even  though  the  results  were  not  visible  to  the  eye  of 
the  preacher  himself. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  the  threatened  outbreak  of 
hostilities  between  the  Venetians  and  Ercole  d'Este  occasioned  a 
general  disturbance  of  the  various  courses  of  study  which  were 
carried  on  at  Ferrara.-  The  Dominican  students  were  dispersed 
to  other  convents  of  the  Order,  and  among  them  Era  Girolamo  was 
sent  to  that  of  S.  Marco  at  Florence.    Fra  Vincenzio  Bandello,  who 

'  Savonarola  to  his  mother,  25th  January  1490  (Marchese,  p.  113). 
•^  "  Per  cagion  della  giierra  che  avevon  niessa  e  Viniziani  al  Duca  di  Ferrara, 
s'era  intromesso  in  delta  citta  ogni  studio  generale  e  particulate  "  (Cinozzi,  p.  10). 

11 


ti  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

was  at  that  time  Prior  of  S.  Marco,  at  once  appointed  him  professor 
or  "  reader,"  of  Holy  Scripture  in  the  convent,  a  choice  which  was 
greatly  appreciated  by  his  pupils,  who  held  him  in  great  veneration. 
His  earnest  exhortations  to  them  to  study  the  Bible  were  long  re- 
membered, and  an  eye-witness  told  Cinozzi  how  Fra  Girolamo  used 
to  come  to  class  with  his  eyes  bathed  in  tears,  as  one  who  had 
prepared  his  lecture  rather  by  meditation  than  by  study.^  He  was 
further  appointed  to  preach  the  following  Lent  (1482)  in  the  church 
of  S.  Lorenzo,  and  Cinozzi,  who  himself  attended  this  course  of 
sermons,  has  left  it  on  record  that  "neither  his  gestures  nor  his 
pronunciation  gave  satisfaction,"  so  that  before  the  end  of  Lent  the 
audience  had  dwindled  down  to  less  than  twenty-five  persons,  all 
told.-  Meanwhile,  large  crowds  flocked  to  hear  the  discourses  of 
a  man  who  in  later  years  was  to  be  numbered  among  the  most 
bitter  enemies  of  Fra  Girolamo.  This  was  the  Augustinian  Fra 
Mariano  da  Gennazzano,  then  preaching  at  Santo  Spirito,  Fra 
Mariano  must  certainly  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  oratorical 
power,  for  Politian,  who  went  to  hear  him,  with  a  strong  predis- 
position to  criticise  him  unfavourably,  declares  that  the  very  sight 
of  the  friar  in  the  pulpit  was  enough  to  dispel  his  prejudices,  and 
that  he  remained  in  a  manner  enchanted  with  his  sermon.  But 
the  features  of  Mariano's  eloquence  which  Politian  praises  are  his 
musical  voice,  with  its  melodious  cadences,  his  rhetorical  pauses, 
his  rounded  periods ;  ^  qualities,  it  is  needless  to  say,  which  do 
not  necessarily  characterise  the  truly  apostolic  preacher. 

"  I  never  knew  [he  adds]  a  more  discreet  and  agreeable  man.  He 
neither  repels  his  hearers  by  undue  severity,  nor  deceives  them  (?)  by  too 
great  leniency.      Many  preachers    deem   themselves   lords   of  life   and 

^  "  Che  pill  presto  avea  meditato  qualche  cosa  che  studiato  la  lezione  "  (Cinozzi, 
/oc.  cii.).  He  adds,  however  :  "  Ma,  perche  la  possedeva  molto  bene,  sodisfaceva 
ottimamente."  It  would  seem  that  for  this  part  of  Savonarola's  career  Cinozzi 
is  the  original  authority  from  whom  Eurlamacchi  (p.  23)  has  drawn. 

•^  "  N6  in  gesti  nfe  in  pronunzia  satisfece  quasi  a  nessuno,  in  mode  che  mi  recordo 
...  all  ultimo  restammo  fra  uomini,  donne,  e  fanciulli,  manco  di  xxv."  This, 
then,  is  not,  as  we  had  conjectured  (^'J'ablet,  7th  May,  p.  721A),  a  mere  exaggera- 
tion of  Burlamacchi's,  Burlamacchi  says  :  "  E  d'avvertire  che  nel  principio  del  suo 
predicare  n^  voce,  i\h  gesti,  nh  modo  alcuno  aveva,  che  fusse  convenevole  ed 
accomodato  a  tale  exercizio"  (p.  21)  ;  a  statement  which  hardly  seems  to  jusiify 
the  more  emphatic  expies-ions  of  Villari  :  "  I  suoi  modi  per5  e  le  forme  del 
dire  eruno  rozzi  e  negletti,  la  pronunzia  aspra,  le  parola  incoile,  il  gesto  vivacissimo, 
quasi  violento"  (i.  72). 

*  Polili.in  to  Tristano  Calco,  22[id  March  1490  (Viilni,  i.  So) 


FIRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  13 

death,  abuse  their  powers,  look  askance  at  everything,  and  weary  men 

by  perpetual  admonitions.  Mariano  is  nwderatioJi  itself.  A  stern  censor 
in  tlie  pulpit,  he  has  no  sooner  quilted  it  than  he  becomes  genial  and 
courteous."  ^ 

Affability  and  geniality  are  excellent  qualities  in  themselves ; 
and  we  may  credit  Fra  Mariano  with  having  at  the  outset  wished 
to  be,  after  the  fashion  set  by  the  Apostle,  "all  things  to  all  men." 
But  the  step  from  courteous  affability  to  courtier-like  servility 
is  one  which  is  only  too  easily  taken  ;  and  Fra  Mariana  appears 
to  have  become  a  thorough  courtier.  He  was  in  high  favour  with 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  who  had — as  Machiavelli  tells  us — shown  his 
esteem  for  the  friar  by  building  a  convent  of  his  Order  (that  of  San 
Gallo)  near  Florence.-  The  favour  thus  shown  him  by  Lorenzo 
was  repaid  in  later  days  by  a  misplaced  loyalty  to  his  family,  and 
Fra  Mariano — as  will  appear  in  the  sequel — was  banished  from 
Florence  in  1497  in  consequence  of  his  complicity  in  a  plot  for  the 
restoration  of  Piero  de'  Medici. 

It  is  no  matter  for  surprise  that  Fra  Girolamo  should  have 
been  so  discouraged  by  this  open  and  apparent  failure  as  to  have 
determined,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  disappointment,  to  renounce  for 
ever  the  work  of  preaching,  and  even — if  we  may  believe  Burlamacchi 
— to  have  announced  this  determination  to  his  handful  of  hearers. 
Nor  were  there  wanting  candid  friends  who  urged  him  to  take  this 
resolution.^  But  such  a  purpose,  even  had  it  been  in  his  power  to 
carry  it  out,  was  not  likely  to  be  of  long  duration.  A  member  of  the 
Order  of  Preachers,  inflamed  as  Fra  Girolamo  was  with  zeal  for 
souls,  and  conscious  of  powers  which  only  needed  exercise  to 
become  in  the  highest  degree  effective,  must  surely  have  felt, 
sooner  or  later,  that  the  call  to  work  in  the  vineyard  was  too 
imperative  to  be  disregarded  on  the  strength  of  the  ill  success  of  his 
first  attempts."*     But  however  this  might  have  been,  the  matter  was 

^  This  passage,  apparently  from  the  letter  above  referred  to,  is  given  by 
Pastor,  V.  183,  after  Reumont,  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  ii.  390. 

-  Machiavelli,  Works  (Eii^.  Trans.)  p.    188. 

^  "  E  anco  essendoli  detto  da  altri  secondo  che  li  udi'  dire  di  poi  piii  volte" 
(Cinozzi,  p.  II).  "  Siccome  anco  da  molti  era  cor\s\^\:i\.o,  et  fttbb/icamciite  la 
disse  al  populo"  (Burlamacchi,  p.  24). 

*  Gherardi  (pp.  38,  39)  has  brought  to  light  two  interesting  letters  from 
Giovanni  Garzoni,  a  notable  professor  at  Bologna,  to  Savonarola.  Garzoni  had 
been  consulted  by  P'ra  Girolamo  as  to  his  prospects  of  success  in  the  pulpit.  His 
first  letter  is  full  of  encouragement — of  a  sort.  "Si  philosophiam  et  theologiam 
cum  oratoria  coniunxeris,  immortakm  laudeni  conseqtteris,"     But  in  his  second 


14  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

settled  for  him  by  those  to  whom  he  owed  obedience,  and  during 
the  years  which  followed  we  find  him  repeatedly  engaged  in  preach- 
ing in  various  towns  of  Tuscany  and  Lombardy.  It  is  impossible, 
for  lack  of  sufficient  data,  to  give  a  connected  account  of  these 
missionary  expeditions,  and  it  must  be  sufficient  to  mention,  as 
known  scenes  of  his  labours,  San  Gimignano  (1484-85),  Brescia 
(i486),  and  Pavia.  He  retained,  however,  till  i486  his  office  of 
professor  at  S.  Marco.  1 

Meanwhile  he  had  attended,  in  quality  of  deputy  or  representative 
of  his  convent,  the  general  chapter  of  his  Order  held  at  Reggio  in 
1482  ;  and  at  this  gathering  of  distinguished  men,  his  words  on 
whatever  may  have  been  the  subject  or  subjects  under  debate  appear 
to  have  attracted  much  attention,  and  to  have  gained  for  him  the 
favourable  notice  of  the  famous  Giovanni  Pico  della  Mirandola,  who 
was  present.2  According  to  Burlamacchi,  this  meeting  gave  occasion 
to  Pico  to  endeavour — not  without  success — to  induce  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici  to  procure  the  recall  of  Savonarola  to  Florence.  But  the 
dates  are  quite  inconsistent  with  this  statement.^  In  1482  Savonarola 
had  not  yet  left  Florence,  and  his  return  to  that  city,  after  he  had 
left  it  in  i486,  did  not  take  place  till  1489.  The  detection  of  this 
circumstantial  error,  which  is  due  to  Gherardi,  does  not,  however, 
necessitate  the  rejection  of  the  whole  story  of  Fra  Girolamo's 
presence  at  the  chapter,  and  of  his  meeting  there  with  Pico  della 
Mirandola.^ 

San  Gimignano,  which  we  have  already  mentioned  as  the  scene 
of  Savonarola's  missionary  labours  in  1484  and  1485,  is  a  small 
town  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Siena,  whose  "  monuments  and  lofty 

letter  he  laments  that  Fra  Girolamo  has  "declared  war  against  Priscian,  the 
grammarian,"  and  in  a  bantering  strain  advises  him  to  heal  the  wound  which  his 
own  hand  has  inflicted.  The  letters  are  undated,  and  are  perhaps  separated  by  a 
considerable  interval  of  time. 

1  Villari,  i.  84-S8. 

2  Burlamacchi  (p.  24)  says  that  Pico,  "  sentendo  disputare  fra  gli  altri  il  P.  F. 
Girolamo,  tanio  resto  preso  dalla  dottrina  sua  mirabile,  che  non  gli  pareva  poi 
poter  vivere  senza  lui."  The  somewhat  detailed  description  of  Savonarola's 
attitude  and  discourse  on  this  occasion  which  is  given  by  Villari  (i.  78,  79) 
is  supported  by  no  reference  to  any  authority. 

■'  Burlamacchi,  ibid.  The  date  of  the  chapter  has  been  determined  by 
Gherardi,  p.  378. 

^  Di  Creighton  (v.  148)  writes  :  "  Gherardi  .  .  .  shows  that  the  chapter  at 
Reggio  was  held  in  14S2,  which  disposes  of  the  story  conclusively."  But  not  of 
the  whole  story. 


FIRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  15 

towers  .  .  .  and  churches,  still  adorned  with  the  charming  pro- 
ductions of  Domenico  Ghirlandajo  and  Bcnozzo  Gozzoli,  still  testify 
that  [it]  was  once  a  flourishing  seat  of  culture  and  of  art."  ^  It  was 
here  that  for  the  first  time  Savonarola  gave  utterance  in  set  form  to 
those  three  propositions  which  were  afterwards  to  play  so  important 
a  part  in  his  preaching  : — 

(i)  The  Church  shall  be  scourged  : 

(2)  And  afterwards  renovated  : 

(3)  And  this  shall  happen  soon. 

We  have  the  authority  of  the  repeated  assertion  of  Fra  Girolamo 
himself  for  saying  that  these  famous  propositions  were  not,  in  the 
first  instance,  put  forward  as  the  outcome  of  any  special  revelation, 
but  simply  as  conclusions  deducible  from  the  application  of  the  laws 
of  divine  Providence  as  these  are  enounced  and  exemplified  in  the 
pages  of  Holy  Scripture. 2 

"  It  seemed  to  him  [says  Pico  della  Mirandola]  that  the  majesty 
of  divine  justice  required  that  terrible  penalties  should  fall  on  wicked 
men,  and  especially  on  those  who,  being  placed  in  authority,  corrupt  the 
people  by  their  bad  example  at  a  time  when  the  human  race,  sunk  in 
wickedness  (perdition),  had  for  so  many  ages  abused  the  patience  of  God, 
and  when  the  peoples  of  Asia  and  Africa  were  involved  in  many  errors 
and  in  the  darkness  of  ignorance.  He  thought,  too,  that  the  order  of 
divine  providence  indisputably  demanded  the  same  chastisements,  seeing 
that  from  the  very  beginning  of  history  (ab  ipso  rerum  primordio)  we 
have  the  record  of  a  series  of  wonderful  and  mysterious  judgments, 
whereby  the  lovable  clemency  and  the  terrible  justice  of  God  are  alike 
made  manifest."  ^ 

The  writer  goes  on  to  speak,  by  way  of  illustration,  of  the  punish- 
ment of  our  first  parents,  of  the  world  by  the  deluge,  of  Egypt  in  the 
days  of  Pharaoh,  and  of  the  cities  of  the  plain.  And  what  was  the 
state  of  things  now?  Popes  were  declared — and  hardly  any  one 
doubted  the  truths  of  the  assertion— to  have  gained  their  position  by 
fraud  and  simony,  and,  when  they  had  gained  it,  they  indulged  their 
worst  passions,  and  appointed  as  cardinals  and  bishops  men  like- 
minded  with  themselves.  They  lived  without  true  religion,  and 
were  even  believed  to  scoff  at  the  faith.  From  the  vices  of  Popes, 
Pico  passes  to  those  of  secular  princes,  who,  he  says,  exercised  a 

Villari,  i.  76. 

E.g.  Compenditim  Rcvelationum  ,Ed.  Quetif),  p.  226,  and  elsewhere. 

YUa,  c.  V.  ;  Qu^tif,  i.  17. 


l6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

tyrannical  oppression,  and  gave  tliemselves  uj)  to  rapine,  to  violence, 
to  flattery,  to  lust,  to  sacrilege  ;  and  all  this  so  commonly  that  it 
might  truly  be  said,  in  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture,  that  not  one 
could  be  found  who  did  right. 

That  this  passage  from  Pico's  "  Life "  fairly  represents,  as  he 
alleges,  what  Savonarola  himself  had  told  him  of  his  own  thoughts, 
may  readily  be  admitted;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  order 
to  understand  Savonarola's  mind  it  is  more  important  to  know  what 
he  believed  about  contemporary  history,  than  to  ascertain  the  actual 
facts.  Probably  Fra  Girolamo  was  persuaded  that  Innocent  VIII., 
and  perhaps  even  Sixtus  IV.,  were  men  of  personally  wicked  lives ; 
for  we  can  hardly  regard  the  use  of  the  plural  number  to  be 
simply  and  solely  a  rhetorical  device,  and  Pico  is  speaking  of  that 
period  of  Fra  Girolamo's  preaching  which  preceded  the  election 
of  Alexander  VI.  And  indeed  from  the  biographer's  point  of  view 
it  does  not  greatly  signify  that  Savonarola  should  have  been  mis- 
informed as  to  the  vices  of  this  or  that  individual  Pope  of  the 
three  in  whose  calamitous  times  his  career  as  a  preacher  fell. 
The  signs  of  the  times  were  sufficiently  clear  to  one  whose  mental 
vision  was  that  of  the  pure  of  heart,  and  fully  justified  him  in 
declaring  that  such  open  and  rampant  wickedness  could  not  for 
ever  go  unpunished,  and  that  it  must  surely  bring  retribution,  not 
merely  in  the  unseen  hereafter,  but  also  in  those  chastisements  of 
God  which  often  fall  upon  human  society  in  this  visible  world, 
though  they  do  not  always  fall  with  heaviest  stroke  upon  the  most 
guilty. 

The  history  of  the  reigns  of  Sixtus  IV.,  Innocent  VIII. ,  and 
Alexander  VI.,  has  been  made  familiar  to  English  readers,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  by  the  historical  works  of  Pastor  and  of 
Creicfhton.  Dr  Barry  has  recently  expressed  himself  concerning  this 
period  in  the  following  terms  : 

*'  He  [Savonarola]  had  been  driven  by  war  from  Ferrara  to  S.  Mark's 
at  Florence  in  1481.  The  war  was  due  to  Sixtus  IV.,  one  of  that  evil 
succession  in  the  Papal  chair  which,  between  Paul  II.  and  Paul  III., 
during  some  sixty  years,  scandalised  Christendom  by  their  luxury,  their 
greed,  their  vices,  or  their  paganism.  None  among  them  has  left  a  more 
dismal  inheritance  of  scandalous  stories  than  Sixtus  IV.  In  all,  however, 
the  '  solicitudo  omnium  ecclesiarum '  was  subordinate  to  the  crooked  and 
atrocious  policy  of  a  petty  Italian  prince,  intent  upon  aggrandising  his 
resources  and  establishing  his  house  upon  the  ruins  of  the  neighbouring 
States,  regardless  of  the  thunder  that  was  already  filling  the  heavens  with 


P^IRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  t^ 

a  purple  cloud.  Those  who  have  searched  into  the  annals  of  the  time 
agree  in  this  judgment,  however  they  may  vary  in  the  strength  of  the 
language  that  expresses  it.^ 

We  quote  these  words  because  they  seem  to  express  just  that 
view  of  the  situation  which  Savonarola  himself  undoubtedly  took. 
We  do  not  ourselves  believe  that  cither  Sixtus  IV.  or  Innocent  VIII. 
(during  the  years  of  his  pontificate)  can  be  justly  accused  of  personal 
immorality,  still  less  of  "  paganism. "^  Indeed,  the  piety  of  Sixtus, 
and  in  particular  his  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  is  well 
attested.^  And  he  might  more  reasonably  have  been  charged  with 
reckless  prodigality  than  with  grasping  avarice.'*  But  his  unblushing 
nepotism,  wherein  he  far  outstripped  the  worst  offenders  among  his 
predecessors,  and  was  equalled  only  by  those  who  immediately 
followed  him,  is  notorious;  and  it  was  mischievous  to  the  last 
degree.^  Nor  can  either  Sixtus  or  Innocent  be  acquitted  of 
responsibility  for  the  intrigues,  or  of  complicity — at  least  by  silence 
and  allowance — in  the  scandalous  excesses  of  the  unworthy  men 
whom,  for  family  or  political  reasons,  they  advanced  to  the  highest 
positions  in  the  Church  and  in  the  Papal  States.*^  And  it  was,  in 
fact,  precisely  these  unworthy  .promotions  under  Sixtus  IV.  which 
rendered  possible  the  choice  of  his  successor  Innocent  VIII.,  and 
which  paved  the  way  for  that  crowning  scandal,  the  simoniacal  election 

^  Savonarola  :  In  Menioriam  (.S.  Petet's  Magazine,  May  1S98),  p.  167. 

"^  "As  regards  Infessiira's  most  serious  accusation,  that  of  gross  immorality,  in 
that  corrupt  age  such  a  charge  was  but  too  frequently  flung  at  any  enemy.  .  .  . 
No  trustworthy  contemporary  .  .  .  has  a  word  to  say  on  the  subject"  (Pastor, 
iv.  0,1"]  sqq.).  "  Infessura  .  .  .  has  blackened  his  memory  with  accusations  of 
the  foulest  crimes.  These  charges,  made  by  a  partisan  who  writes  with  un- 
disguised animosity,  must  be  dismissed  as  unproved"  (Creighton,  v.  115).  When 
Villari  writes  (i.  25),  "La  scandaloza  libidine  di  Sisto  non  conosceva  limiti  di 
sorte  alcuna,"  he  is  following'  Infessura,  and  showing  himself  to  be  no  safe  guide. 

'  "  Cujus  ante  imaginem  ita  intentis  et  mente  et  oculis  orare  solitus  erat,  ut 
horaespationunquam  connivere  sit  visus"  (Sigisniondo  de'  Conti,  a/wi/ Creighton, 
v.  113).  "  With  touching  perseverance,  the  feeble  old  man  made  his  pilgrimages 
of  devotion  to  the  churches  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo  and  della  Pace,  which  he 
had  built  in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin"  (Pastor,  iv.  418). 

*  Pastor,  iv.  428. 

^  This  is  fully  admitted  by  Pastor  (iv.  419),  and  strongly  urged,  as  might  be 
expected,  by  Creighton  (v.  62,  63).  "  Other  Popes,"  he  writes,  "  had  been 
nepotists  a  little,  but  to  Sixtus  IV.  nepotism  stood  in  the  first  place." 

^  Pastor  {he.  cit.)  speaks  of  "  that  unfortunate  attachment  to  his  nephews  .  .  . 
which  entangled  him  in  a  labyrinth  of  political  complications,  from  which,  at 
last,  no  honourable  exit  was  possible." 

B 


l8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

of  the  ever-infamous  Alexander  VI. ^  Sufficient  allowance,  it  is  true, 
has  not  always  been  made  for  the  difficult  position  in  which  Sixtus 
found  himself  on  his  succession  to  the  Papacy,  nor  have  the  motives 
which  actuated  him  been  always  justly  estimated.  He  cannot  fairly 
be  blamed  for  having  wished  by  every  lawful  means  to  consolidate 
the  dominions  which  he  held  in  trust  for  the  Church,  or  for  having 
sought  to  round  off  his  frontiers  by  such  a  transaction  as  the 
purchase  of  Imola  from  Galeazzo  Sforza  of  Milan,  by  way  of 
protection  against  the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  intriguing 
neighbours."  Nor  again  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  should 
have  desired  to  be  served  by  subordinates  who  would,  as  might  be 
supposed,  be  thoroughly  devoted  to  himself,  and  who  might  be 
relied  upon  to  carry  out  those  vigorous  measures  of  home  govern- 
ment which  could  alone  secure  the  internal  peace  and  well-being 
of  the  States  of  the  Church,  an  object  which  he  undoubtedly 
had  at  heart.^  And  it  may  not  unreasonably  be  maintained  that 
the  effective  carrying  out  of  this  twofold  purpose  would  in  the 
long  run  have  greatly  conduced  to  the  welfare  of  the  Church  at 
large.* 

But  granting  that  his  aims  were  less  crudely  ambitious  than  they 
are  deemed  to  have  been,  even  by  so  fair-minded  an  historian  as 
Dr  Creighton,  it  cannot  be  pretended  that  Sixtus  had  solely  in  view 
the  welfare  of  the  Church.  And  even  had  his  motives  been  as 
purely  unselfish  as  they  were  in  reality  mixed,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  aim  and  the  end  do  not  justify  the  means. 
Assuredly,  no  aim  or  end  could  justify  the  promotion  of  the  crowd 
of  needy  relatives   whose  mischievous  influence  was  the  bane  of 

^  Pastor,  iv.  416 ;  v.  233. 

^  Among  these  neighbours  not  the  least  dangerous  was  Lorenzo  de'  Medici, 
whose  treacherous  conduct  towards  the  Pope  is  dealt  with  by  Pastor  (iv.  270  sj^., 
291  s^</.). 

^  On  the  home  government  of  Sixtus  IV.,  cf.  Pastor,  iv.  426. 

*  When  Dr  Creighton  (iii.  loi)  exhibits  Sixtus  in  the  light  of  "an  Italian 
prince  who  was  engaged  in  consolidating  his  dominions  into  an  important  State," 
and  says  that  he  "pursued"  this  object  "passionately,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
other  duties  of  his  office,"  and  again  (p.  102),  that  "  the  object  which  Sixtus  IV. 
set  before  himself  was  not  a  lofty  one,"  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  he  is  hardly 
fair  to  the  Pope.  Given  the  temporal  power  as  an  actual  fact,  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  the  duty  of  establishing  the  government  of  the  Papal  States  on  a  satisfactory 
basis  might  seem  to  claim  the  first  place  in  the  order  of  execution,  though  not  in 
that  of  ultimate  importance.  And  the  same  view  of  the  situation  appears  to  have 
been  taken  by  a  much  greater  man  than  Sixtus,  his  nephew,  Julius  II. 


FIRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  19 

this  disastrous  pontificate.^  The  fault,  and  it  was  a  grievous  one, 
brought  with  it  its  own  retribution.  The  instruments  of  his  choice 
proved  too  powerful  for  the  hand  that  would  have  wielded  them  ; 
and  the  naturally  energetic  character  of  Si.xtus  degenerated  into  a 
lamentable  weakness  under  the  domination  of  the  untamed  and 
untrained  upstarts  in  whose  hands  he  had  placed  the  reins  of 
power.  The  mad  extravagance,  the  scandalous  luxury,  the  un- 
blushing immorality  of  Cardinal  Pietro  Riario  received  no  effective 
check  from  the  Pope,  who  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  infatuated 
in  his  affection  for  this  graceless  nephew.  And  the  insatiable 
ambition  of  Pietro's  brother,  the  Count  Girolamo  Riario,  entailed 
political  consequences  in  which  Sixtus  only  too  readily  allowed 
himself  to  be  involved.- 

It  is,  moreover,  important  to  notice,  that  the  circumstances  of 
the  time  were  such  as  to  bring  the  misdeeds  of  the  Pope,  or  rather 
of  his  representatives,  very  prominently  under  the  notice  of 
Savonarola.  It  was  shortly  before  the  departure  of  Girolamo  from 
his  father's  house  for  the  Dominican  novitiate,  that  Eleanora  of 
Aragon,  daughter  of  Ferrante,  King  of  Naples,  arrived  at  Ferrara  as 
the  wife  of  Ercole  d'Este.  And  the  reception  of  the  newly-married 
couple  in  Rome,  on  their  way  from  Naples,  had  been  on  a  scale 
of  sumptuous  magnificence,  "which  startled  even  the  luxurious 
princes  of  Italy."  This  was  mainly  the  work  of  Pietro  Riario, 
who  achieved  thereby  an  unenviable  though  splendid  notoriety 
throughout  Italy,  and  more  particularly  in  the  city  of  Era  Girolamo's 

^  Five  of  the  nephews  of  Sixtus  were  made  cardinals  by  him,  viz.  Giuliano 
and  Cristoforo  della  Revere,  Girolamo  Basso,  Pietro  Riario,  and  Raffaelle  Sansoni. 
Of  these  only  two,  Giuliano  della  Rovere  (afterwards  Julius  II.)  and  Girolamo 
Basso,  were  in  any  way  worthy  of  their  high  office.  Girolamo  Riario,  brother  of 
Pietro,  was  made  Count  of  Forll  and  afterwards  of  Imola,  and  married  Caterina, 
daughter  of  Galeazzo  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan  ;  Lionardo  della  Rovere  married  a 
natural  daughter  of  Ferrante  of  Naples,  and  was  made  Duke  of  Sora ;  Girolamo 
della  Rovere  married  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Federigo,  Duke  of  Urbino  ;  while 
for  other  members,  lay  and  clerical,  of  the  Rovere  and  Riario  families,  matrimonial 
alliances  and  ecclesiastical  appointments,  only  less  distinguished,  were  plentifully 
provided. 

'  Dr  Pastor,  following  Schmarsow,  speaks  of  the  character  of  Sixtus  as  showing 
moments  of  great  energy  alternating  with  intervals  of  reaction  and  weakness,  and 
adds  with  truth  :  "  The  crafty  Girolamo  relentlessly  turned  these  weaker  moments 
to  account"  (iv.  430).  Dr  Creighton  writes  (iii.  103) :  "  It  is  impossible  not  to 
feel  that  the  low  savagery  and  brutal  resoluteness  of  Count  Girolamo  were  echoes 
of  the  natural  man  of  Sixtus  1\\,  which  (in  his  case)  had  been  in  some  measure 
tempered  by  early  training  and  the  habits  of  self-restraint." 


20  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

birth. ^  This  same  cardinal  was,  moreover,  about  the  same  time, 
created  Archbishop  of  Florence,  and  his  solemn  progress,  as  Legate 
of  Umbria,  through  Florence,  Bologna,  Ferrara,  Milan,  and  Venice, 
served  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  an  indelible 
memory  of  the  lengths  to  which  the  pompous  splendour  of  a 
haughty  ecclesiastical  parvenu  could  go."  But  worse  than  this  was 
to  follow. 

In  1478  the  nefarious  conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi,  in  which  Girolamo 
Riario  and  Francesco  Salviati,  Archbishop  of  Pisa,  were  implicated 
as  principals,  took  effect  in  the  sacrilegious  murder  of  Giuliano  de' 
Medici  in  the  Cathedral  of  Florence,  and  Lorenzo  himself  narrowly 
escaped  the  same  fate.^  It  is  absolutely  untrue  to  say  that  Sixtus 
had  any  hand  in  this  awful  crime.^  But  it  can  hardly  be  questioned 
that  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  take  effective  steps  for  its  prevention 
at  a  time  when  he  must  have  foreseen,  to  say  the  least,  the 
probability  that  a  murder  would  be  committed  ;^  and  the  necessity 
under  which  he  found  himself  of  protesting  against  the  utter  dis- 
regard of  ecclesiastical  immunities,  and  of  the  most  elementary  form 
of  justice,  with  which  Salviati  was  punished  by  the  Florentine 
authorities,  and  against  the  unjust,  as  well  as  illegal,  imprisonment 
of  Cardinal  Sansoni-Riario,  unfortunately  gave  a  colour  of  plausibility 
to  the  opinion  of  those  who  regarded  Sixtus  as  an  accomplice  in 
the  crime.*'     Moreover,  the  memory  of  the  interdict  which  Sixtus 

^  The  proceedings  are  described  in  detail  by  Pastor,  iv.  241  sqq.  ;  Creighton, 
iii.  64  ;  Gregorovius,  vii.  233  sqq. 

"^  Pastor,  iv.  250  ;  Gregorovius,  vii.  235  sqq.  The  Cardinal  died  a  few  months 
after  his  return  to  Rome  (1474). 

2  Lorenzo  had  wished  to  purchase  Imola  from  Galeazzo  Sforza,  but  Sforza, 
yielding  to  the  Pope's  entreaties,  had  sold  the  city  to  him  instead,  and  Girolamo 
Riario  had  been  appointed  to  this  lordship.  Lorenzo  had  retaliated  by  supporting 
Niccolo  Vitelli,  lord  of  Cittk  di  Castello,  in  his  rebellion  against  the  Pope.  Sixtus, 
in  his  turn,  had  transferred  the  management  of  the  Papal  exchequer  from  the 
Medici  to  the  rival  family  of  the  Pazzi.  An  additional  cause  of  dissension  had 
occurred  in  the  appointment  of  Salviati  to  the  archbishopric  of  Pisa  against  the 
will  of  Lorenzo.  To  these  circumstances,  and  to  the  family  quarrels  between  the 
Medici  and  Pazzi,  must  be  ascribed  the  coalition  of  Girolamo  Riario  and  Arch- 
bishop Salviati  in  this  nefarious  design  against  Lorenzo  and  his  brother  Giuliano. 
The  best  account  of  the  conspiracy  is  in  Pastor,  iv.  300  sqq. 

^  This  is  clear  from  the  confession  of  Montesecco,  quoted  by  Pastor  {loc.  di.)  and 
Creighton  (iii.  75). 

^  Creighton,  loc.  cit.  ;  cf.  Pastor,  iv.  312,  who,  though  he  blames  Sixtus,  is 
perhaps  too  lenient  in  his  judgment. 

*  To  cite  only  two  instances,  Guicciardini  {S/on'a  Fio7-entina,  p.  37)  says 
plainly:  "Concorreva  in  queslo  trattato  non  solo  il  conte,  ma  eziandio  la  Santlta 


FIRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  21 

had  laid  upon  the  city  of  Florence  on  this  occasion  was  still  fresh 
when,  just  twenty  years  later,  Savonarola  laughed  to  scorn  the  threat 
of  a  similar  interdict,  repeatedly  uttered  by  Alexander  VI. 

So,  too,  the  war  with  Ferrara,  though  not  precisely  "  due  to 
Sixtus  IV.,"  was  undoubtedly  due  to  his  nephew,  Girolamo  Riario, 
and  what  seemed  like  an  unscrupulous  attempt  at  spoliation,  to 
which  the  Pope  gave  his  full  sanction,  could  hardly  fail  to  make 
a  deeper  impression  on  the  mind  of  Fra  Girolamo  than  it  might 
otherwise  have  done,  when  he  saw  it  directed  against  his  own 
native  city.^  It  is  true  that,  before  the  close  of  1482,  the  Pope 
concluded  a  peace  with  Naples,  Milan,  and  Florence,  whereby  the 
possession  of  his  States  was  guaranteed  to  the  Duke  of  Ferrara ;  but 
the  war  was  continued  by  Venice.  Sixtus  now  turned  his  arms 
against  that  Republic,  and  the  Florentine  interdict  of  1478  was 
followed  by  the  Venetian  interdict  of  1484.  x\nd  even  apart  from 
the  special  injustice  of  the  war  against  Ferrara,  it  is  clear  that  the 
honour  of  the  Holy  See  was  seriously  compromised  by  complicity 
in  the  petty  rivalries  of  the  Italian  States.  It  was  the  news  of  a 
peace  which  he  deemed  dishonourable  between  the  League  and 
Venice  that  hastened  the  death  of  a  Pope  whose  reign,  notwith- 
standing his  many  personal  good  qualities,  which  have  been  too 
often  overlooked,  had  been  on  the  whole  a  most  grievous  calamity 
to  the  Church. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  in  what  light  Fra  Girolamo  regarded  the 
election  of  Innocent  VIII.  The  inscription  which  prefaces  the 
poem  called  Oratio  pro  Ecclesia,  written  shortly  after  that  election, 
seems  to  show  that  he  regarded  the  peaceful  conclusion  of  the 
conclave  as  the  result  of  a  divine  intervention ;  while,  on  the  other 

del  Papa  ne  era  conscia ";  and  Nardi  writes :  ' '  Dagli  sdegni  di  queste  due 
famiglie  fu  causata  la  infrascritta  perniziosa  congiura  .  .  .  secondo  che  allora  si 
diceva  non  senza  saputa  del  medesimo  Pontcfice"  (i.  17).  Of  the  prompt  and 
savage  vengeance  taken  on  this  occasion  Guicciardiiii  (pp.  40  sqq.)  speaks  at  some 
length.  Salviati,  after  being  flogged,  was  hanged  without  trial ;  and  more  than 
fifty  persons,  among  whom  some  were  certainly  innocent,  were  executed  on  the 
same  day,  and  many  others  later.  Cardinal  Sansoni-Kiario,  a  mere  youth,  and 
free  from  complicity  in  the  crime,  was  held  prisoner  for  some  weeks  [^cf.  Pastor, 
iv.  314,  sqq.). 

*  Pastor  has  shown  (iv.  350)  that  Sixtus  had  a  real  grievance  against  d'Este. 
But  it  may  safely  be  said  that  he  would  never  have  gone  to  war  with  Ferrara  but 
for  the  intrigues  of  Girolamo  Riario  with  Venice.  He  sought  the  support  of  the 
Republic  for  his  designs  upon  Naples,  and  the  duchy  of  Ferrara  was  held  out  as  a 
bait  (Pastor,  loc,  cit,). 


22 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 


hand,  it  is  clear  from  the  poem  itself  that  he  was  still  full  of  appre- 
hensions for  the  future.!  The  opening  lines,  which  occur  again  at 
the  end  of  the  poem,  are  these  :— 

Jesu,  dolce  conforto  e  sommo  bene 

D'ogni  affannato  core, 
Risguarda  Roma  con  perfetto  amore. 

Rome,  or  more  explicitly  the  "  holy  Roman  Church,"  has  been 
brought  by  the  demon  to  a  sad  pass. 

Soccorsi  a  la  Romana 
Tua  Santa  Chiesa,  che  11  demonio  atterra,  etc. 

The  principal  reason  for  the  poet's  dread  of  impending  disaster 
lies  in  the  wealth  and  in  the  corresponding  avarice  of  the  clergy  :— 

E  quanto  sangue,  oime  !  tra  noi  s'  aspetta 

Se  la  tua  man  pietosa, 
Che  di  perdonar  sempre  si  diletta, 

Non  la  riduce  a  quella 
Pace  che  fu  quand'  era  poverella. 

But  if  the  election  of  the  new  Pope  seemed  for  a  moment  to  be 
due  to  a  special  intervention  of  Providence  for  the  avoidance  of  a 
schism,  the  history  of  Innocent's  reign  is  enough  to  convince  the 
student  of  ecclesiastical  history  that  Fra  Girolamo  must  have  seen  his 
worst  apprehensions  only  too  speedily  realised.  It  would  be  unjust 
to  Innocent,  as  it  would  be  unjust  to  Sixtus,  not  to  credit  him  with 
a  genuine  desire  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church.  But  both  Pontiffs 
seem  to  have  been  infatuated  with  the  idea  that  the  cause  of  God 
can  be  forwarded  by  the  adoption  of  a  thoroughly  worldly  policy,  and 
that  self-seeking  can  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  duty  of  seeking  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  As  Girolamo  Riario,  after  the  death  of  his 
brother,  Cardinal  Pietro,  had  ruled  Sixtus  IV.,  notwithstanding  that 
Pope's  admitted  force  of  character,  so  the  weak  and  vacillating 
Innocent  allowed  himself  to  become  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  Cardinal 
Giuliano  della  Rovere,  and  of  his  own  son  (born  before  his  entrance 

1  The  poem  bears  this  superscription  :  "  Oratio  pro  Ecclesia— Quando,  mortuo 
Sisto  IV.,  suscitavit  diabolus  dissentionem  in  Ecclesia:  1484,  de  mense  augusti. 
Dominiis  i^ilur  apposiiit  matium  ;  et  facta  concordia,  in  brevi  electus  est  In- 
nocentius  VIII.,  non  sine  admiratione  ovium,  quae  de  schismate  dubitabant" 
(Villari  and  Casanova,  Scclia,  p.  413). 


FIRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  23 

into  the  ecclesiastical  state)  Franccschetto  Cibb.^  And  more  than 
this ;  to  the  scandal  of  unblushing  nepotism  was  now  added  the 
further  scandal  of  a  Pope  eager  to  arrange,  and  to  celebrate  with 
almost  unparalleled  magnificence,  lucrative  and  politically  ad- 
vantageous marriages  for  his  own  children  and  grandchildren. - 

>The  condition  of  Rome  itself  under  these  Popes  may  be  truly,  and 
without  exaggeration,  described  as  disgraceful.  While  Pinturricchio 
and  Ghirlandajo,  and  Melozzo  da  Forli  and  Perugino  and  Mantegna 
and  others  were  busily  engaged  in  the  adornment  of  the  Sistine 
Chapel,  of  the  Vatican,  and  of  other  palaces  and  churches ;  while 
numerous  sacred  edifices  were  being  erected,  which  too  often 
testified  to  the  wealth  and  ostentation  rather  than  to  the  devotion 
of  their  founders  ;  while  the  streets  of  Rome  were  being  straightened, 
and  widened,  and  paved ; — these  same  streets  were  daily  and  nightly 
the  scene  of  murderous  brawls,  of  which  the  open  feuds  of  the  della 
Valle  and  Santa  Croce,  of  the  Colonna  and  Orsini,  afforded  only  the 
most  noteworthy  examples.  Of  the  venality  and  corruption  which 
prevailed  among  the  officials  in  the  Papal  Court,  and  of  the  increas- 
ing prevalence  of  sensual  vice  even  among  ecclesiastics  of  the 
highest  standing,  it  is  needless  to  speak  in  detail.  It  may  be 
enough  to  recall  to  mind,  as  an  indication  of  the  state  of  affairs,  that 
when  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  sent  his  son  Giovanni  (afterwards  Pope 
Leo  X.)to  Rome,  to  be  invested,  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  with  the 
dignity  of  cardinal — to  which  he  had  already  been  appointed  three 
years  earlier — this  not  over-scrupulous  father  warned  the  youthful 
ecclesiastic  that  he  was  going  to  a  city  which  was  a  very  sink  of 
iniquity,  and  that  it  behoved  him  to  take  every  precaution  to 
preserve  himself  from  contamination.^ 

And  of  the  rest  of  Italy  what  is  to  be  said,  but  that  this  was  the 
dark  age  of  a  race  of  petty  despots,  all  of  them — with  hardly  an 
exception — debased  in  character  as  many  of  them  were  tainted  in 

'  Pastor,  V.  242,  265,  36S  sqq.  Giovanni  della  Rovere,  Giuliano's  brother, 
was  made  captain-general  of  the  Papal  forces.  As  regards  Franccschetto,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  he  was  thirty-five  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
election  (Creighton,  iii.  120  7iote).  "  It  is  certain  that  from  the  moment  Giovanni 
Battista  [Cibo,  i.e.  Innocent  VIII.]  entered  the  ecclesiastical  state,  all  the  accusa- 
tions against  the  purity  of  his  private  life  cease"  (Pastor,  v.  241). 

2  We  allude  to  the  marriages  of  Franceschetto  Cibo  to  Maddalena  de'  Medici, 
and  of  Battistina,  the  Pope's  grand -daughter,  with  Don  Luigi,  grandson  of  Ferrantc 
of  Naples  (Pastor,  v.  269,  285  sqq). 

*  Pastor,  v.  358  sqq. 


24  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

blood  ;  tyrannising  over  their  people  with  heedless  oppression,  and 
too  often  exercising  and  setting  the  example  of  a  worse  kind  of 
tyranny  by  their  shameless  profligacy ;  continually  engaged  in 
plotting  against  one  another,  and  plotted  against,  in  their  turn,  by 
their  own  subjects ;  that  the  murder  of  Giuliano  de'  Medici  in 
the  Cathedral  at  Florence,  in  1478,  had  been  preluded  by  that  of 
Galeazzo  Sforza  on  S.  Stephen's  Day,  26th  December  1476,  in  the 
Church  of  S.  Stefano  at  Milan ;  and  that  these  tragedies  were  only 
the  most  conspicuous  and  successful  examples  among  a  score  of 
treacherous  murders  in  the  highest  ranks  of  society ;  that  it  was  an 
age  of  decadence  for  the  religious  orders  no  less  than  for  the  secular 
clergy  ;  and  that  among  the  laity  the  vaunted  Renaissance  was  in  too 
many  instances  nothing  better  than  a  re-birth  of  ancient  paganism, 
with  its  unfaith  and  its  nameless  vices  ?  ^ 

There  was,  of  course,  as  Dr  Pastor  has  shown,  a  brighter  side  to 
the  picture.  Holy  men  and  women  lived  their  lives  in  the  fifteenth 
century  as  they  have  done  in  every  age  of  the  Church.  The 
outburst  of  fresh  life  and  vigour  which  characterised  the  Renaissance 
period  was,  to  a  considerable  extent,  turned  to  good  account,  and 
diverted  into  worthy  channels.  The  wide-spread  demoralisation  of 
the  ruling  classes  was  after  all  by  no  means  universal,  even  in  the 
higher  ranks  of  society,  and  it  had  certainly  not  yet  taken  possession 
of  the  middle  classes  and  of  the  poor.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
in  the  diaries  and  chronicles  of  the  time  that  the  spirit  of  faith  and 
of  charity  was  still  strong  in  the  people  ;  and  were  we  to  confine 
our  attention  to  the  numerous  charitable  institutions  which  adorned 
the  city  of  Florence  as  the  fifteenth  century  was  drawing  to  a  close, 
we  might  almost  imagine  that  we  were  reading  the  history  of  a 
golden  age  of  religious  fervour." 

^  "With  a  few  honourable  exceptions,  almost  all  the  Italian  princes  of  the 
Renaissance  were  steeped  in  vice  ;  the  crimes  of  the  Bori^n  family  were  not 
without  parallels  in  other  princely  houses.  yEneas  Sylvius  Piccolomini,  in  his 
'  History  of  Frederick  III.'  says  :  '  Most  of  the  rulers  of  Italy  in  the  present  day 
were  born  out  of  wedlock.'  When  Pius  II.  came  to  Ferrara  in  1459,  he  was 
received  by  seven  princes,  not  one  of  whom  was  a  legitimate  son.  .  .  .  Cruelty 
and  vindictiveness  went  hand  in  band  with  immorality,  etc."  (Pastor,  v.  114. 
See  the  whole  of  the  second  section,  pp.  98-182,  of  the  Introduction  to  this 
volume).  The  story  of  Galeazzo's  murder  (and  of  the  wickedness  which  provoked 
it)  is  told  by  Creighton  (iii.  72  sqq.),  and  more  briefly  by  Pastor  (iv.  290). 
Cf.  Villari,  i.  28,  29. 

'^  On  the  brigh  er  aspects  of  the  Renaissance  period  in  Italy,  cf.  Pastor, 
V.  1-97. 


FIRST  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  25 

On  the  whole,  however,  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  at  the  time  of 
which  we  speak,  the  evil  influences  that  were  at  work  threatened  to 
be  victorious.  The  ruling  classes  were,  as  has  been  said,  deeply 
corrupted,  and  the  poison  was  rapidly  spreading  through  every 
stratum  of  society. 

Such,  very  briefly  and  roughly  sketched,  was  Italy  when 
Savonarola,  no  longer  an  unknown  friar,  but  a  preacher  who  had 
already  made  his  mark,  came  to  Florence  for  the  second  time,  never 
again  to  leave— except  for  very  brief  intervals — the  city  of  his 
adoption 


CHAPTER   III 

THE    PREACHER  :    HIS   TEACHING    AND    HIS    METHODS 

WHEN  Fra  Girolamo  returned  to  Florence  in  1489,  or  early  in 
1490,  it  was  to  resume  his  office  of  professor  or  reader  at 
S.  Marco.  His  lectures  on  the  Apocalypse,  however,  which  were 
delivered  during  the  following  summer  "  under  a  damask  rose  tree  at 
the  end  of  the  garden,"  were  attended  not  only  by  his  own  brethren, 
but  by  many  of  the  most  learned  men  in  Florence.  And  as  the 
number  of  his  auditory  daily  increased,  so  that  the  place  was 
incapable  of  accommodating  all  who  wished  to  hear  him,  both  his 
brethren  and  his  lay  hearers  began  to  urge  him  to  speak  again  in 
public.  One  Sunday  evening,  in  the  guest  hall,  their  entreaties 
became  more  than  usually  importunate.  "  Pray,"  he  said,  "  till  next 
Sunday,  and  you  will  understand  what  is  to  be  done  " — that  is  to 
say,  they  were  to  pray  that  he  might  be  guided  to  act  for  the  best  in 
the  matter.  When  Sunday  came  round  once  more,  he  told  them 
that  on  that  day  week  he  would  preach  in  the  church,  adding, 
says  Burlamacchi,  that  he  would  continue  to  do  so  (either  in 
S.  Marco  or  elsewhere  in  Florence)  for  more  than  eight  years,  as  in 
fact  he  did.^  The  first  sermon  of  this  long  course  of  preaching  was 
delivered  on  Sunday,  ist  August  1490. 

The  same  writer  graphically  describes  the  eagerness  of  the 
crowds  which  now  flocked  to  hear  a  man  who,  disregarded  as  he 
had  been  a  few  years  previously,  had  since  made  himself  a  name  in 
so  many  cities  of  northern  Italy,  and  whose  private  discourses  had 
already  attracted  the  attention  of  many  of  the  elite  of  Florence. ^ 

1  "  Circondato  egli  di  nuovo  da  Frali  per  haver  la  risposta,  disse  lor  sorridendo 
con  allegra  faccia  :  Uomenica  prossima  legeremo  in  Chiesa,  et  sark  letione  et  pre- 
dicatione  ;  aggiungendo  :  Et  predicher6  piu  d'otto  anni  ;  come  poi  si  veritico" 
(Burlamacchi,  p.  28).     On  the  dates  here  given,  see  Gherardi,  pp.  373  sqq. 

"  Villari  (i.  94)  has  given  a  rather  fanciful  picture  of  the  effects  of  this  first 
sermon,  attributing  to  a  single  occasion  what  Burlamacchi  says  of  the  general  effect 
of  a  whole  series  of  discourses. 


THE  PREACHER  27 

Tie  continued  his  expositions  of  the  Apocalypse,  and,  as  Villari  puts 
it,  "the  walls  of  S.  Marco  now  echoed  for  the  first  time  with  his 
three  famous  conclusions."  The  effect  of  his  preaching  was  from 
the  first  marked,  yet  various.  It  awakened  enthusiasm,  aroused 
opposition,  in  some  cases  even  provoked  contempt.  On  the  whole, 
the  prevailing  judgment  seems  to  have  been  unfavourable,  not 
indeed  in  its  estimate  of  his  oratorical  powers,  which  were  un- 
questionably of  the  highest  order,  but  in  its  attitude  towards  the 
novelties — as  they  seemed — which  he  put  forth. ^  But  notwith- 
standing external  opposition,  and  internal  feelings  of  discouragement 
and  depression,  he  held  on  his  way  with  that  fearless  courage  which 
characterised  him  throughout  his  career.- 

And  now,  before  we  proceed  to  follow  the  series  of  events,  it 
seems  desirable  to  say  something  in  general  concerning  the  leading 
features  of  his  teaching  from  the  pulpit.  Here,  however,  we  find 
ourselves  confronted  with  a  very  real  difficulty.  We  had  been 
inclined  to  make  it  a  matter  of  reproach  against  Villari  and 
Casanova  that  the  extracts  from  Fra  Girolamo's  sermons  which  they 
have  given,  the  former  in  his  "Life,"  and  both  together  in  the  recently 
published  Scelta  de  Prediche  are  almost  exclusively  of  a  polemical 
or  denunciatory  character ;  whereas  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  all  his  preaching  was  of  this  kind.  This  reproach  it 
had  been  our  wish  to  avoid  in  the  present  volume ;  and  lest  it 
should  be  thought  that  we  wish  to  minimise  his  great  and  conspicuous 
merits  by  the  familiar  device  of  "faint  praise,"  we  had  determined — 
so  far  as  the  space  at  our  disposal  would  allow — to  present  the 
reader  with  a  series  of  selected  passages  which  might  serve  to 
illustrate  his  ordinary  manner  when  dealing  with  ordinary  and  non- 
contentious  topics.  But,  in  fact,  Savonarola's  sermons,  except  when 
he  launches  out  into  the  language  of  invective  or  of  self-defence,  do 
not  readily  lend  themselves  to  quotation,  at  least  in  English.     Very 

'  Nel  qual  tempo  commici6  a  suscitarsi  gran  contraditione,  et  a  dividers!  quasi 
tutta  la  citla,  dicendo  alcuno  chi'egli  era  semplice  et  buono  homo ;  alcuni 
ch'egli  era  dotto  ma  astutissimo ;  molli  che  attendcva  a  visioni  false  et  stolte  " 
(Burlamacchi,  p.  28). 

-  Dipoi  crescendo  tuttavia  piu  la  grandissima  contraditione  ;  egli  nel  con- 
siderarla  diventava  alle  volte  pusillanime,"  etc.  (Burlamacchi,  ibid ,  and  similarly 
Savonarola  himself  in  his  Compendium  RcvcliUionutn  ;  Quetif,  ii.  227).  On  the 
other  hand,  he  bears  witness  to  his  own  outspoken  boldness  at  this  time. 
"  Ricordatevi  voi  gia  parecchi  anni  sono  quando  io  cominciai  predicate  la  in 
S.  Marco ;  che  io  vi  dicevo  che  io  ero  la  gragnola  et  che  [chi]  non  la  volessi 
sentire,  stessi  coperto,"  etc.  (S.  7  on  Amos  ;  Lent  1496). 


28  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

numerous  and  lengthy  extracts  are  indeed  to  be  found  in  Dr 
Luotto's  somewhat  bulky  work,  and  in  addition  to  these  we  have  not 
shirked  the  task  of  reading  through  a  very  considerable  proportion 
of  Fra  Girolamo's  sermons  in  their  entirety ;  but  the  prolixity  of  the 
preacher's  style  is  such  that  our  search  for  passages  which  might  be 
here  reproduced  without  the  risk  of  wearying  the  English  reader,  has 
been,  we  regret  to  say,  unrewarded.  We  shall,  indeed,  have  occasion, 
later  on,  to  pick  out — as  Villari  and  Casanova  have  done — stirring 
passages  of  a  polemical  or  apologetic  character,  which  compel 
attention  either  by  virtue  of  their  force  of  language,  or  by  reason  of 
their  bearing  on  the  events  of  Fra  Girolamo's  later  years.  But  as 
regards  his  more  pacific  sermons,  such  as  those  on  the  First  Epistle  of 
S.  John,  preached  in  the  Advent  of  1491  or  1492,  and  the  Lenten 
course  of  1494,  we  must  needs  confine  ourselves  to  a  brief  account 
of  the  topics  on  which  he  loved  to  dwell,  and  of  the  method 
which  he  followed  in  handling  these  topics. 

Beyond  all  question  the  most  striking  feature  of  Savonarola's 
preaching  is  his  constant  use  of  the  language  of  Holy  Scripture, 
and  of  Scriptural  allusions.  His  method  is,  professedly,  that  of 
continuous  exposition  of  one  or  other  book  of  the  Bible,  chapter  by 
chapter  and  verse  by  verse ;  but  to  say  this  gives  no  idea  of  the 
extraordinary  wealth  of  illustration  whereby  in  his  discourses  the 
Old  Testament  is  made  to  throw  light  on  the  New,  and  the  New  on 
the  Old,  and  every  book  from  Genesis  to  the  Apocalypse  on  every 
other  book.^  The  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  text  is,  indeed, 
habitually  carried  to  excess  ;  the  etymological  disquisitions  in  which 
he  occasionally  indulges  are  generally  fanciful ;  his  applications  of 
the  words  of  Holy  Scripture  are  often  strained  and  far-fetched. 
But  with  every  allowance  for  such  shortcomings,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that,  as  regards  the  use  of  Holy  Scripture  in  the  pulpit, 
preachers  in  our  own  day  might  learn — as  Luotto  has  insisted  at 
great  length — a  useful  lesson  from  Fra  Girolamo.  Yet  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  precisely  the  same  lesson  is  to  be  learned, 
and  probably  with  greater  profit,  from  the  homilies  of  Origen, 
of  S.  Augustine,  S.  John  Chrysostom,  S.  Leo,  S.  Peter  Chrysologus, 
S.  Gregory  the  Great — in  a  word,  of  the  whole  long  line  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  Eastern  and  Western. 

^  We  say  that  his  method  is  "  professedly"  that  of  continuous  exposition,  be- 
cause it.  very  often  happens  that  the  continuity  is  so  broken  by  lengthy  digressions 
extending  sometimes  through  several  sermons,  as  to  be  almost  lost  sight  of, 


THE  PREACHER  29 

Another  noteworthy  feature  of  Savonarola's  sermons,  and  one 
which  per  se  is  most  worthy  of  imitation,  is  the  use  which  he  makes 
of  the  Summa  of  S.  Thomas  Aquinas.  This  is  particularly  con- 
spicuous in  the  discourses  delivered  in  the  Lent  of  1494,  where  very 
numerous  references  to  the  Summa  may  be  found  noted  in  the 
margin  of  the  Venetian  edition  of  1536.^ 

Nevertheless,  although  these  sermons  are  distinguished  by  many 
excellent  qualities,  we  cannot  follow  Luotto  when  he  would  set  up 
Savonarola  as  a  model  preacher.  Besides  the  defects  which  have 
been  already  noted,  whole  series  of  his  discourses  are  characterised  by 
a  certain  artificiality  and  fancifulness  of  which  it  cannot  even  be  said 
— according  to  the  hackneyed  phrase — that  it  is  to  be  admired  rather 
than  imitated.  To  us  at  least  it  seems  in  no  sense  admirable,  except 
so  far  as  even  a  misplaced  kind  of  ingenuity  may  demand  the  tribute 
of  a  qualified  appreciation.  We  may  take  an  example  from  the 
Lenten  sermons  of  1494,  which  have  just  been  mentioned.  Here 
we  have  a  succession  of  nearly  forty  discourses  "  Super  Arcam  Noe  " 
— on  the  building  of  Noah's  Ark — the  general  plan  of  which  is  as 
follows.  In  view  of  the  coming  tribulations  a  vessel  is  to  be  built  in 
which  the  faithful  may  take  refuge  from  the  Flood.  The  length  of 
the  Ark  is  interpreted  as  signifying  faith,  its  breadth  charity,  its 
height  hope.  Accordingly,  with  very  few  exceptions,  each  of  the 
discourses  sets  out  from  one  or  other  of  the  three  texts :  "  Walk 
while  ye  have  the  light"  (John  xii.  35);  "Seek  ye  the  Lord  while 
He  may  yet  be  found  "  (Isa.  Iv.  6) ;  and  "  Blessed  is  the  man  whose 
hope  is  the  name  of  the  Lord "  (Ps.  xxxix.  5).  So  far,  good ;  for 
there  is  no  reason  why  a  most  excellent  course  of  sermons  should 
not  be  preached  on  the  three  theological  virtues,  or  why  a  single 
text,  or  two,  or  three  should  not  do  duty  for  the  whole  of  such  a 

'  They  commence  at  f.  18.  Presumably  they  are  to  be  found  in  other  editions 
also,  but  we  can  speak  only  of  the  one  which  lies  before  us.  Of  the  sermons 
preached  before  1491  we  have  only  the  preacher's  rough  drafts,  in  Latin,  several 
of  which  Villari  has  published  (vol.  i.  Append,  pp.  xii.  sqq.,  xxviii.  sqq.). 
When  Vivoli  says  of  the  Lenten  Sermons  of  1492  (he  means  1494)  "  sono  stampate 
latine,  benche  inolto  scorrette,  che  Dio  pcrdotii  a  chi  cosi  itampar  lefcce,"  he  hardly 
goes  beyond  the  admission  which  the  editor  himself  makes  in  his  Preface.  It  was 
not  till  1495  (1494  stylo  florentino)  that  Vivoli  himself  began  to  make  his  most 
valuable  and  very  faithful  reports,  at  first,  as  he  s,jy5,  "m  sustanza  piu  per  un 
suo  exercitio  che  per  altro,"  but  afceiwards,  "appunto  de  vcrlw  ad  verbum" 
(Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  lix.,  Ixi.).  The  very  important  scries  of  sermons  preacned 
in  the  Autumn  and  Advent  of  I494  were  reported  by  Slefano  da  Codiponle 
(Villari,  i.  227). 


30  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

course.  But  this  is  not  all.  On  each  day  the  preacher  undertakes 
to  provide  ten  planks  for  the  construction  of  the  Ark,  and  it  is  here 
that  the  overstrained  artificiality  makes  itself  apparent.  In  some 
cases  the  ten  planks  are  suitable  enough  for  their  purpose.  They 
are  ten  points  of  dogmatic  teaching  concerning  the  attributes  of 
God/  or  concerning  the  Holy  Trinity,^  or  ten  motives  for  the  love 
of  poverty,^  or  ten  salutary  counsels  for  a  time  of  tribulation,*  or  the 
like.  But  as  Lent  draws  towards  its  close,  the  exigencies  of  this 
complicated  design  reduce  the  preacher  to  strange  expedients.  The 
planks  make  their  appearance  adorned  with  strange  and  mysterious 
devices,  and  inscribed  with  texts  of  Holy  Scripture  ;  ^  and  one  cannot 
help  feeling  th.t  too  large  a  place  is  here  given  to  mere  imagination, 
and  that  the  truths  which  the  preacher  wishes  to  inculcate  would 
come  with  greater  force  if  they  were  urged  with  more  simplicity.  So, 
too,  at  the  outset  of  each  sermon,  with  a  few  exceptions,  Satan  is 
introduced  as  presenting  himself,  usually  under  some  disguise,  to 
trouble  the  preacher  or  his  hearers  with  some  objection  or  specious 
temptation.  To  such  a  quasi-parabolic  method  of  introducing  the 
answer  to  current  popular  fallacies  no  objection  can  be  raised  so 
long  as  the  narrative  is  palpably  and  professedly  fictitious.  But  so 
thin  is  the  dividing  line  which  separates  these  mere  fictions  from 
the  closely  analogous  visions  which  Fra  Girolamo  was  wont — more 
especially  in  subsequent  years — to  communicate  to  his  hearers,  that 
one  cannot  help  suspecting  that  the  assiduous  culture  of  the  imagina- 
tion which  these  fictions  bespeak  may  have  been  a  predisposing  cause 
which  exposed  him  to  the  danger  of  illusion  in  the  matter  of  his 
visions.^  This,  however,  is  a  point  on  which  we  shall  have  more  to 
say  in  the  next  chapter. 

But  when  we  turn  from  these  defects — if  defects  they  be — of 
form,  of  arrangement,  of  exegetical  and  imaginative  setting,  to  the 
substance  of  Fra  Girolamo's  discourses,  a  careful  examination  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  them  (for  we  do  not  profess  to  have  read  them 

1  Sermones  Super  Arcam  Noe  (Venice,  1536)  ff.  22  sqq. 

2  Ibid.,  ff.  59  sqq. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  106-7.  The  motives  are  (i)  Because  our  Lord  said  "  Blessed  are 
the  poor";  (2)  because  He  set  the  example  of  poverty;  (3)  because  the  Apostles 
set  the  same  example  ;  and  so  forth. 

*  Ibid.,  fif.  114  sqq.,  II9  sqq. 

'  Ibid.,  ff.  128  sqq. 

"  Compare  especially  the  long  dialogue  with  "the  Tempter"  in  the  remark- 
able vision  of  ist  April  1495,  which  is  recorded  in  the  Cofnpendiutn  Revelaiionum, 
and  summarised  in  the  next  chapter. 


THE  I'R]:acii?:r  31 

all),  and  of  his  ascetical  works,  affords,  we  gladly  admit,  far  more  satis- 
factory results.     Indeed,  it  may  safely  be  said  that,  when  reduced 
to  its  simplest  elements,  Savonarola's  ascetical  system  shows  a  some- 
what remarkable  similarity  with  that  which  is  outlined,  and  in  part 
developed,  in  the  book  of  the  Spiritual  Exercises.    With  Fra  Girolamo, 
as  with  S.  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  the  first  thing  to  be  done,  when  men 
are  to  be  brought  back  to  the  right  path,  is  to  get  them  to  understand 
the  end  for  which  they  exist,  the  purpose  for  which  they  have  been 
created  ;  to  get  them  to  recognise  that  as  man  has  been  created  by 
God,  so  also  he  has  been  created  for  God ;  that  as  he  comes  from 
God,  so  also  he  goes  to   God,  whether  for  the  reward  of  eternal 
happiness   (the   attainment   of    his   end),    or   for   punishment    (the 
penalty  of  having  failed   to  attain  it);  that  the  full  realisation  of 
the  purpose  of  creation  is  therefore  not  to  be  sought  or  found  in 
this  world  but  in  the  next ;  that,  consequently,  man's  every  serious 
effort  ought  to  be  directed  towards  the  attainment  of  his  eternal 
destiny ;  that  a  partial  realisation  of  the  purpose  of  our  creation  is 
possible  in  this  life,  but  that  it  is  to  be  found  only  in  union  with 
God  by  faith,  hope,  and  charity ;  that  such  an  union  with  God  is, 
in  its  perfection,  attainable  by  those  alone  who  despise  the  riches, 
honours,  and  pleasures  of  this  world.     According  to  Fra  Girolamo 
the   dispositions   which   are   requisite   for   the   attainment    of    true 
happiness    here    below   may   be    summed    up    in    the    one   word 
"simplicity."      Internal  simplicity  is  purity  of  intention  or  single- 
ness  of    aim;    external    simplicity    is    a    resolute    detachment    of 
ourselves    from    whatever    is    "  superfluous,"   or  —  as    S.    Ignatius 
would   say  — from    those   created   things   which   instead    of    being 
regarded   and   used   as    necessary    or    helpful    means   whereby   we 
may   seek   our   true   end,    are   perversely   loved   and   clung   to  for 
their  own  sake,  and  so  become  hindrances  instead  of  helps.'     On 

»  Cf.  the  tract,  De  Simplicitate  Vitae  Christianae  (especially  book  ii.  c.  2), 
and  the  sermons  on  the  First  Epistle  of  S.  ]o\\'n,  passim.  The  same  principles 
are  likewise  inculcated  in  the  sermons  "  Super  Arcam  Noe  "—especially  in  the 
earlier  ones  {e.g.  ft".  52-54)— and  elsewhere  {cf.  S.  2  on  Amos).  That  the  resem- 
blance between  Savonarola's  teaching  and  that  of  the  "Spiritual  Exercises  "  is 
more  than  an  accidental  coincidence  we  dare  not  affirm  ;  but  there  are  several 
particular  instances  which  suggest  that  S.  Ignatius  may  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  writings  of  Fra  Girolamo,  and  that  he  purposely  guarded  his  own  disciples 
against  some  of  the  mistakes  into  which  the  perusal  of  those  writings  might  betray 
an  incautious  reader.  The  "  simplicity  "  of  Savonarola's  ascetical  system  answers 
in  great  measure  to  the  "  indifterentia  "  of  the  Ignatian  book. 


32  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

this  whole  range  of  topics,  on  the  unspeakable  joy  and  unshaken 
stability  of  the  soul  which  seeks  and  finds  its  peace  in  union  with 
God,  with  God  the  source  of  all  happiness,  with  God  the  eternal 
and  immutable ;  on  the  danger  of  a  disturbance  of  this  peace  if 
only  a  man  allows  himself  to  be  distracted  and  drawn  aside  by 
any  inordinate  attachment  to  creatures — on  topics  such  as  these 
Savonarola  is  at  his  very  best. 

And  yet  even  here  a  certain  tendency  to  exaggeration,  from 
which  Fra  Girolamo  seems  never  to  have  been  quite  free,  asserts 
itself.  Among  the  external  things  which  distract  the  mind  from  God 
he  reckons  ecclesiastical  ceremonies,  as  they  were  carried  out  in  his 
own  time.  It  is,  indeed,  easy  to  understand  his  feelings  on  the 
subject.  From  his  point  of  view,  the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  the  age 
had  invaded  the  sanctuary,  and  this  to  the  grievous  detriment  of 
true  interior  piety.  And  it  must  certainly  be  admitted  that  the  days 
in  which  Burchardus,  the  Master  of  Ceremonies  to  Alexander  VI., 
systematised  the  rubrics  of  the  Roman  ritual,  were  days  in  which  too 
many  ecclesiastics  compounded  for  their  lack  of  true  devotion  by 
their  solicitude  for  ceremonial  splendour.  There  was  only  too  much 
ground  for  regarding  the  ceremonialists  as  the  Pharisees  of  their 
time ;  in  his  scheme  of  the  division  of  Christians  into  three  classes 
they  were  to  be  numbered  among  the  "  tepidi,"  men  who  professed 
to  be  religiously  minded  without  being  really  so,  who  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  deceived,  and  deceived  others,  "sub  specie  boni,"  and 
who  held  a  middle  place  between  the  "cattivi"  or  "tristi"— the 
open  scoffers  at  virtue  and  religion— and  the  truly  devout.  Still,  it 
is  strange  to  read,  in  a  sermon  by  an  eminent  Catholic  preacher, 
that :  "  If  any  one  should  wish  to  bring  back  any  people  to  the  true 
way,  first  of  all  the  childreti  must  be  ivithdrawn  from  all  ecclesiastical 
ceremonies.'^  For  although  Fra  Girolamo  forthwith  adds  the  proviso : 
"  That  is  to  say  when  they  are  being  trained  by  those  who  have 
not  the  interior  spirit,"  he  goes  on  to  recommend,  as  a  practical 
measure,  that  they  be  withdrawn  "  at  least  from  many  functions  " ; 
and  presently  he  says  that  he  would  like,  if  it  were  possible,  to  see 
"omnes  indulgentie  et  cetera"  done  away  with,  whatever  the 
"cetera"  may  be.'^  Elsewhere  he  urges  that  in  the  primitive 
Church  an  elaborate  ceremonial  had  no  place ;  and  in  one  of  his 
sermons  he  even  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that,  if  human  nature  were 

^  See  the  rough  (haft  of  a  sermon  (1492  or  1493)  puhlished  by  Villari,  i. 
Append,  pp.  xxxiv.  sqq^. 


THE  PREACHER  33 

less  imperfect,  even  sacraments  would  be  superfluous.'  It  is  not 
for  us  to  condemn  what  the  Church  has  not  condemned,  but  some 
at  least  of  these  expressions  of  opinion  appear  to  us  to  approach 
perilously  near  to  the  theological  "note  "of  "rashness."  It  would 
have  been  wiser,  perhaps,  instead  of  lamenting  the  invasion  of  the 
sanctuary  by  ceremonial  pomp  and  splendour,  to  rejoice  rather  that 
these  things,  as  well  as  the  arts,  had  been  brought  into  the  service 
of  the  Church ;  and  it  ouglit  to  have  been  possible  to  turn  to  good 
account  a  feature  of  contemporary  ecclesiastical  life  which  was  at 
least  not  bad  in  itself,  and  which,  with  the  fullest  approval  of  Popes 
and  saints,  has  after  all  survived  Savonarola.  And  it  is  one  of  the 
ironies  of  life  that  the  very  man  who  was  so  ready  to  find  lault  with 
an  elaborate  ceremonial,  as  likely  to  distract  the  mind  from  God, 
was  himself — as  will  presently  appear — the  contriver  of  functions 
the  like  of  which  had  never  been  seen  in  Florence  before,  and  which 
were,  to  say  the  least,  less  suited  for  perpetuation  than  those  of 
which  he  spoke  so  slightingly.-  So  too  it  would,  to  say  the  least, 
have  been  wiser  to  abstain  from  somewhat  contemptuous  references 
to  that  form  of  devotion  which  shows  itself  in  the  desire  to  adorn 
and  beautify  the  House  of  God.^  In  this  matter,  too,  abuses  are 
possible,  and  no  doubt  existed  then  in  a  greater  degree  than  now. 
But  Fra  Girolamo  speaks  sometimes  as  if  a  thing  which  is  liable  to 
abuse  were  bad  in  itself. 

But  to  return  to  more  fundamental  matters,  Savonarola  knew,  as 
well  as  did  S.  Ignatius,  that  it  was  not  enough  to  direct  men's  minds 

^  Sermons  on  the  Psalms  (28th  May  1495). 

^  In  the  main,  no  doubt,  Savonarola's  views  on  the  subject  of  ceremonial  were 
sound.  "Tiepidi,  lasciate  le  vostre  cerimonie,"  he  says,  "  ne//e  quali  havete 
posto  el  vestro  fine'"  (S.  6  on  Aggaeus  ;  cf.  S.  10).  His  fundamental  principle 
is,  that  the  end  is  to  be  steadily  kept  in  view,  and  that  it  is  a  reversal  of 
right  order  when  what  ought  to  be  only  a  means  to  the  end  is  made  an  end 
in  itself,  and  thereby  becomes  a  hindrance.  (Elsewhere  he  has  a  passage  about 
benefices,  which  are  so  often  sought  for  as  an  end  in  themselves,  instead  of  being 
regarded  merely  as  a  means  to  that  one  great  end  of  God's  service.)  The  principle 
is  excellent ;  it  is  in  the  application  of  the  principle  that  Fra  Girolamo  appears 
to  go  somewhat  astray,  or  at  least  somewhat  too  far. 

^  In  the  Sermons  i'/z/c-ry^rcrtw,  f.  137,  the  first  plank  represents  two  churches, 
"una  cum  tabernaculis  paupercula,  altera  ornatissima,"  and  it  is  plain  that  the 
poorer  and  less  ornate  building  has  the  preference.  And  in  another  passage  he 
speaks  with  scorn  of  those  who  go  about  asking  ladies  to  give  or  to  make  altar- 
linen,  cottas,  vestments,  etc.,  when  they  ought  rather  to  provide  for  their  families. 
What  he  says  on  the  subject  is  not  formally  erroneous,  but  his  words  at  least 
suggest  a  condemnation  of  what  is  in  itself  praise woi thy. 

C 


34  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

to  their  true  end,  and  to  disabuse  them,  intellectually,  of  the  fallacies 
of  worldliness,  without  also  arousing  in  them  a  deep  and  abiding 
horror  and  detestation  of  sin.  And  here  he  was,  if  not  in  all  respects 
at  his  best,  at  all  events  confessedly  most  forceful.  The  prevalent 
vices  of  the  day,  avarice,  simony,  usury,  gambling,  impurity,  were 
lashed  by  him  with  a  very  fury  of  zeal  which,  in  the  space  of  a  few 
years,  changed  the  face  of  the  city,  and  not  merely  reduced  to  a 
relative  minimum  the  actual  volume  of  vice,  but  in  great  measure 
compelled  the  vicious  to  hide  away  their  wickedness,  and  at  least 
to  refrain  from  giving  open  scandal.  Of  Fra  Girolamo's  invectives 
against  vice  we  shall  have  occasion  to  give  some  specimens  here- 
after ;  but,  in  the  meanwhile,  we  would  remark  that  even  if  it  be 
admitted  (as  we  think  it  must)  that  in  this  particular  he  exceeded 
the  bounds  of  moderation,  one  motive  at  least  which  most  powerfully 
influenced  him,  and  which  goes  far  to  explain  and  even  to  justify 
his  vehemence,  was  the  overmastering  desire  to  deliver  the  innocent 
and  the  frail,  children  and  the  gentler  sex,  servants  and  dependents 
and  the  poor,  from  the  tyranny  of  evil  example,  of  wicked  fashions, 
of  aggressive  lust,  and  of  oppressive  greed  and  cruelty. 

Nor  was  it  merely  the  spiritual  needs  of  men  for  which  Fra 
Girolamo  would  make  provision.  The  corporal  works  of  mercy 
were,  in  his  eyes,  only  less  important  than  the  spiritual,  and  his 
views  on  this  subject  must  be  allowed  to  have  been  eminently 
practical.  The  wars  and  political  disturbances  of  the  period  had 
led  to  a  great  neglect  of  agriculture,  and  swarms  of  needy  peasants 
flocked  into  Florence  during  the  years  of  Savonarola's  ministry  in 
that  city.  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  Savonarola  set  himself 
with  all  his  immense  energy  to  the  work  of  providing  for  their 
necessities;  not  merely  by  urging  again  and  again  the  duty  of 
coming  to  their  relief,  but  also  by  taking  efficacious  means  for  the 
collection  and  distribution  of  abundant  alms. 

Yet  while  he  lays  stress  on  the  duty  of  paying  a  fair  wage,  of 
abstention  from  oppressive  usury,  and  of  almsgiving  on  the  part  of 
the  rich,  he  also  inculcates  with  the  utmost  earnestness  and  urgency 
the  duty  of  labour  and  of  patience  on  the  part  of  the  poor ;  and  it 
is  interesting  to  note  how  he  insists  that  the  best  form  of  almsgiving 
is  to  provide  employment  for  those  who  are  capable  of  it.^ 

Nor  must  we  pass  over  in  silence  the  evidences  of  a  deep  and 
tender  piety  which  are  to  be  found  in  abundance  in  his  discourses. 

»   LuoUo,  pp.  33  sqq. 


THE  PREACHER  35 

It  would  have  been  to  little  purpose  to  discuss  and  expound,  in  the 
terms  of  scholastic  philosophy  and  theology,  drawn  from  the  Sumtna 
of  S.  Thomas,  the  teaching  of  the  Church  concerning  the  adorable 
Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  unless  the  apprehension  of  this  teaching  had 
been  made  to  subserve  the  ultimate  end  and  purpose  of  exciting  true 
devotion.  The  picture  which  Fra  Girolamo  draws  of  the  preparation 
of  a  good  Christian  family  for  their  Easter  Communion  is  as  beautiful 
as  it  is  lifelike.  The  duty  of  confession  and  communion  at  this 
holy  time  is  not  to  be  treated  as  a  purely  personal  matter  which 
concerns  the  individual  only,  and  to  which  as  little  reference  as 
possible  is  to  be  made  in  ordinary  domestic  intercourse.  Rather  it 
is  a  duty  which  concerns  the  entire  family  as  such,  and  is  to  be 
performed  by  all  together.  After  all  have  attended  the  public 
offices  of  the  Church  on  Holy  Saturday,  and  have  returned  home 
betimes,  the  head  of  the  household  is  recommended  to  assemble  its 
members  ("il  messere  e  la  madonna  con  i  figliuoli  intorno,  e  i  servi 
e  le  serve")  for  the  recitation  of  the  penitential  Psalms  and  the 
Litanies,  and  for  a  short  meditation,  before  retiring  to  rest.  They 
will  do  well  to  rise  early,  and  to  recite  together  the  Office  of  Our 
Lady,  and  once  more  to  spend  some  time  in  meditation,  before 
proceeding  to  their  parish  church  there  to  receive  our  Lord.' 

Second  only  to  his  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  to 
the  Passion  of  our  Lord  (of  which  latter  we  cannot  here  speak  in 
detail)  was  his  filial  veneration  of  the  Virgin  Mother  of  God. 

**  Tu  sei  certa  speranza 

Di  tutti  gli  om  mundani 
Ch'  in  te  non  ha  fidanza 
Si  vol  volar  senz'  ali." 

Thus,  echoing  Dante,  he  addresses  her  in  one  of  his  poems,  and 
her  praises  occur  again  and  again  in  his  sermons.  Dr  Luotto  gives 
a  long  and  beautiful  passage,  in  which  certain  passages  from  the 
Book  of  Wisdom,  which  are  applied  to  Our  Lady  in  the  Liturgy,  are 
made  the  vehicle  of  counsels  addressed  to  different  classes  of  the 
faithful.  Mary  is  "  a  fruitful  vine,"  therefore  her  sons  should  be  "  as 
grapes  that  are  fused  in  one  wine  of  charity."  Mary  is  the  "  Mother 
of  beautiful  love,"  but  not  of  the  profane  and  sensual  love  of  this 
world,  therefore  her  daughters  should  adorn  themselves  in  a  manner 
that  becomes  modest  women,  not  in  such  a  way  as  to  excite  evil 

'  Luotto,  \'>\\  45,  46. 


36  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

passions.  In  Mary  is  "  all  hope  of  life  and  of  truth,''  therefore  let 
the  little  ones,  who  have  life  yet  before  them,  look  to  her  for 
example  and  for  help.^ 

)  Of  the  immediate  results  of  Fra  Girolamo's  preaching  there  is, 
as  has  been  said,  no  manner  of  doubt.  Enthusiastic  admirers  and 
deadly  enemies,  Piagnoni  and  Arrabbiati,  are  alike  agreed  that 
the  face  of  the  city  was  changed.  Florence,  writes  Ghivizzano,  the 
Mantuan  envoy,  has  become  like  a  monastery.  The  lascivious 
songs,  called  Carnelascialeschi^  which  used  to  be  heard  on  all  sides 
at  the  time  of  the  Carnival,  and  to  the  composition  of  which  even 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici  demeaned  himself,  gave  place  to  pious  canticles ; 
and  the  gaudy  pageants  in  which  the  gilded  youth  of  Florence  took 
delight  were  relinquished  in  favour  of  religious  processions.  The 
money  which  but  for  Fra  Girolamo  would  have  been  squandered 
on  finery  and  luxury,  or  which  would  have  been  lost  at  the  gambling 
table — for  the  passion  for  high  play  was  one  of  the  moral  plagues  of 
the  city,  and  had  infected  every  class  of  society — now  found  its  way 
to  the  friars'  alms-boxes,  and  through  them  to  the  poor.  All  this  it 
would  be  vain  to  deny,  nor  has  it  been  called  in  question  by  those 
who  have  felt  constrained  to  pass  an  unfavourable  judgment  on  his 
prophecies,  his  political  action,  and  his  resistance  to  the  lawful 
authority  of  the  Pope.  But  even  apart  from  these  things,  and  others 
which  have  been  already  mentioned,  there  still  remain  several  points 
in  connection  with  his  preaching  on  which  widely  divergent  opinions 
have  been  expressed. 

In  the  first  place,  it  has  been  asserted  with  some  emphasis  by  Dr 
Pastor,  and  has  been  implied  even  by  so  large-hearted  a  judge  of 
men  as  Cardinal  Newman,  that  the  success  of  Fra  Girolamo's 
preaching  was  ephemeral.  After  his  tragic  death,  writes  Newman, 
"things  went  on  pretty  much  as  before."  "The  religious  enthusiasm 
which  he  had  aroused,  the  moral  renovation  which  he  had  effected," 
says  Dr  Pastor,  "  were  transitory.  They  were  like  a  fire  which  blazes 
up  quickly,  and  quickly  dies  away."- 

We  are  inclined  to  think  that  statements  of  this  kind  are  apt  to 
create  a  somewhat  false  impression.  It  is  no  doubt  invariably  the 
case  that  every  great  religious  revival  is  followed  by  a  certain 
reaction ;  and  no  missioner,  unless  he  be  very  ine.xperienced  indeed, 
expects  that  the  fervour,  which  for  the  moment  he  may,  with  God's 
help,   succeed   in  arousing,  will  be  permanently  maintained  at  the 

^  Luotto,  pp.  56  58.  '  Piistor,  iii.  154.      Cf.  Filipepi,  pp.  490,  495  sqq. 


THE  PREACHER  37 

same  pitch.  But  he  knows  well  that  it  is  a  great  matter  to  stir 
men  to  a  sense  of  sin,  to  excite  them  to  acts  of  contrition  and  to 
deeds  of  penance,  and  to  fill  them  even  for  the  moment  with  some 
degree  of  enthusiasm  in  the  good  cause  of  their  own  salvation.  He 
knows  very  well  that  many  will  fall  back,  some  sooner,  some  later, 
into  their  old  ways  ;  but  he  also  trusts  that  it  v.'ill  not  be  so  with  all ; 
and  he  has  a  well-grounded  confidence  that  zeal  in  the  ministry  of 
the  word  will  surely  bear  some  fruit,  however  modest  the  harvest 
may  be  when  judged  by  a  human  standard.  Whether  the  harvest 
be  more  or  less  abundant,  whether  the  results  of  his  apostolic 
labours  be  more  or  less  enduring,  will  depend,  under  God,  partly 
upon  the  purity  of  his  motives,  the  self-abnegation  with  which  his 
work  is  carried  on,  the  fervour  of  prayer  with  which  it  is  accompanied, 
but  partly  also  upon  natural  or  acquired  gifts  of  eloquence,  energy, 
sympathy,  tact,  and  the  like ;  and  very  largely  on  the  prudence  of 
his  conduct  and  the  appropriateness  of  his  methods.  Now  we  are 
entirely  of  opinion  that  if  the  work  of  Savonarola  had  been  carried 
out  with  greater  prudence,  the  ultimate  results  of  his  labours  would 
have  been  more  far-reaching  and  more  permanent ;  more  like  those 
which  were  achieved  by  that  other  great  preacher  whose  tercentenary 
has  recently  been  celebrated,  the  Blessed  Peter  Canisius.  But  when 
we  bear  in  mind  the  life-long  impression  made  by  the  preaching  of 
Savonarola  upon  men  like  the  younger  Pico  della  Mirandola, 
Girolamo  Bcnivieni,  Fra  Benedetto  da  Firenze,  Fra  Placido  Cinozzi, 
Simone  Filipepi,  and  others  of  more  or  less  distinction  in  the  world 
of  politics,  literature,  or  art,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  there 
must  have  been  many  hundreds  of  persons,  of  whom  no  record  has 
been  preserved,  in  whose  souls  that  same  preaching  bore  fruits  that 
never  entirely  withered  away  and  decayed.^  For  this  reason  we  feel 
bound  to  enter  a  protest  against  any  sweeping  statement  to  the  effect 
that  the  success  of  Savonarola's  ministry  was  merely  ephemeral. 
The  harvest  indeed  was  not  so  abundant,  or  of  so  hardy  a  growth, 
as  under  other  circumstances  it  might  have  been  ;  and  the  tares  of 
spurious  prophecy  and  visionary  self-delu-sions,  unconsciously  sown 
by  him,  sprang  up  and  fructified  only  too  plentifully  side  by  side 
with  the  wheal  of  sound  doctrine  and  of  Christian  piety.-  But 
while  we  fully  recognise  this,  it  is  well  that  we  should  not  close  our 

'  Dr  Pastor  bears  witness  to  ihe  i^alutary  influeace  exercised  by  Savonarola  on 
some  of  the  most  eminent  amonj^  the  Horentine  artists  of  the  day  (iii.  146-47). 
"  Pastor,  V,  200  S(jq. 


38  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

eyes  to  the  good  grain  which  it  pleased  God  to  raise  from  the  land 
that  had  been  watered  by  the  tears,  watched  over  by  the  vigils,  and 
cultivated  by  the  unsparing  labour  of  this  too  wayward  and  in  many 
respects  only  too  unskilful  husbandman. 

There  is  another  charge  which  has  been  laid  at  the  door  of  Fra 
Girolamo,  by  Dr  Pastor  among  others,  which  seems  to  us  to  have 
been  somewhat  unduly  pressed.  It  is  that  of  an  exaggerated 
asceticism,  of  a  mischievous  tendency  to  confound  counsel  with 
precept,  and  to  impose,  as  if  they  were  of  strict  obligation,  practices 
which  might  seem  to  lie  even  beyond  the  sphere  of  prudent  advice. 
In  other  words,  Savonarola  has  been  condemned  as  a  rigorist,  the 
Tertullian  of  his  age.^  Now  that  Fra  Girolamo  was  prone  to 
exaggeration  is,  we  believe,  incontestable,  but  the  charge  can,  we 
venture  to  think,  hardly  be  sustained  in  terms  so  extreme  as  these. 
In  his  development  of  this  part  of  his  subject,  Dr  Pastor  has  in  the 
main,  and  to  a  great  extent  verbatim,  followed  Perrens ;  but  when 
we  come  to  inquire  into  the  contemporary  evidence  on  which 
Perrens  here  rests  his  case,  it  turns  out  to  be  somewhat  slender.^ 
The  principal  witness  is  Ghivizzano,  whose  letter  to  the  Marquis  of 
Mantua  has  been  already  mentioned.  "This  friar,"  he  writes,  "has 
so  frightened  the  people  [of  Florence]  that  all  have  given  themselves 
up  to  devotion.  .  .  .  He  makes  everybody  ('  tutta  questa  terra  ')  fast 
three  days  a  week  on  bread  and  water,  and  twice  a  week  on  bread 
and  wine.  He  has  made  all  the  young  maidens,  and  many  of  the 
married  women,  betake  themselves  to  convents,  so  that  one  sees  in 
Florence  only  servants  and  slaves  and  old  crones."^  Now  these 
statements  are  so  unequivocally  definite  that  Dr  Pastor  may  be 
pardoned  for  havmg  taken  them  as  setting  forth  the  bare  facts  of 
the  case  and  as  affording  ground  for  an  unprejudiced  judgment.^ 
But  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  he  has  by  no  means  adequately 

'  "  Essenlially  a  rigorist  of  the  type  of  Tertullian,  to  him  due  moderation  was 
impossible"  (Pastor,  v.  203). 

■■^  On  one  point  at  least  Dr  Pastoi  {Beiiylheiluns,  p.  58)  promised  to  molify  his 
statements  in  a  second  edition  of  his  work ;  and  he  has  since  fulfilled  his  promise. 

^  "  A  fato  fugire  tute  le  donzelle  e  parte  delle  maritate  in  de  monasteri  per 
modo  die  non  se  vede  per  Fiorenza  se  non  fante  e  schiavone  e  vecchiame" 
(Ghivizzano  to  Gonzaga,  17th  November  1494  ;  Cosci,  p.  293  ;  Pastor,  v.  203  ; 
Luotto,  p.  160). 

*  In  fact  Dr  Pastor,  in  his  reply  to  Dr  Luotto,  speaks  of  "des  Zeugniss  des 
ganz  ohjectiv  urtheiknden  mantuanischen  Gesandteii  uber  die  von  Savonarola 
niHSslos  iibertriebenen  Fasten  "  {^Beurtheihuig,  p.  52.     halics  ours). 


THE  PREACHER  39 

gauged  the  Italian  diplomatist's  capacity  for  what  may  charitably  be 
described  as  hyperbole. 

As  regards  the  matter  of  fasting,  so  far  as  we  can  gather  them 

from  Fra  Girolamo's  own  sermon  the  facts  are  these :  Shortly  after 

the  beginning  of  November  1494,    he  exhorts   his  hearers  to  fast 

thrice  a  week  till  Advent,   and  on   Fridays  to  fast  on  bread  and 

water.^     On  ist  May  1495,  he  recommends  them  to  fast  on  one  day 

of  the  week,  and  to  abstain  from  flesh  meat  on  Wednesdays.-     On 

28th  May  (Ascension  Day)  of  the  same  year  he  advises  them   to 

observe  a  "  Lent "  from  the  following  day  until  Whitsun-Eve,  i.e.  on 

eight  days  in  all,  of  which  one  was  already  a  fast-day  and  four  were 

days  of  abstinence.-'     The  same  recommendation  he  gives  in  1496, 

and  he  urges  that  the  Advent  of  that  year  be  observed  in  the  same 

manner  as  Lent  is  wont  to  be  observed  ;  ■*  and,  so  far  as  we  are  aware, 

this  is  all.     It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  we  may  have  overlooked 

other  instances  of  the  same  kind,  and  we  do  not  undertake  to  deny 

that  on  the  occasions  which  have  been  mentioned  the  preacher  may 

have  been  somewhat  exacting  ;  but  at  least  it  must  be  admitted  that 

such  counsels  fall  far  short  of  the  more  than  Spartan  code  attributed 

to  Fra  Girolamo  by  the  hostile  and  malicious  pen  of  Ghivizzano. 

Moreover,  on  these  occasions  the  Friar  was  careful  to  add  that  the 

fast  was  to  be  "discreet,"  and  to  be  undertaken  only  by  those  whose 

health  and  duties  permitted  it. 

Cappelli  has  brought  to  light  a  letter  of  Savonarola  to  one 
Ludovico  Pittorio,  who  had  consulted  him  about  this  very  matter 
of  fasting,  and  whose  questions  he  answers  in  as  large-minded  a 
spirit  of  moderation  as  could  have  been  expected  from  S.  Philip 
Neri  himself.^  Indeed,  it  is  in  his  private  correspondence  that 
Savonarola  appears  at  his  best. 

The  counsel  which  he  frequently  gave  from  the  pulpit,  with 
regard  to  richness  of  apparel  and  personal  adornment,  may  seem  to 
us  in  these  democratic  days  a  little  minutious  in  its  discrimination 
between  the  different  classes  and  ranks  of  society;  but  the  principles 
which  he  lays  down  on  the  subject  are  based  upon  the  words  of  the 
two  great  Apostles,  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul  (i  Pet.  iii.  3 ;  i  Tim.  ii. 

^  S.  3  on  Aggaeus  (November  1494). 
-  Sermons  on  the  Psalms  (ist  May  1495). 
3  Ibid.  (aSih  May). 

*  S.  19  on  Ruth  ;     S.  i  on  E/.ekiel  ;   Luolto,  pp.  174  sqq. 
'  Savonarola  to  Pittorio,  3rd  August  1497  (Cappelli,  iiuU-  118;  Luuttu,  pp. 
177-78). 


40  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

9,  lo),  and  he  is  careful  to  repeat  again  and  again  that  he  does  not 
intend  in  this  matter  to  impose  or  assert  the  existence  of  any  strict 
obligation.^ 

Nor  can  he  be  justly  charged  with  an  exaggerated  asceticism  on 
the  strength  of  his  advice  with  regard  to  the  frequentation  of  the 
Sacraments.  "  My  children,"  he  says,  addressing  the  young,  "  do 
not  any  longer  content  yourselves  with  a  yearly  confession ;  I  would 
have  you  confess  more  frequently  ;  at  least  five  times  in  the  year." 
Again,  he  specially  recommended  confession  and  communion  at  the 
time  of  the  Carnival,  by  way  of  precaution  and  protest  against  the 
wickedness  of  which  this  season  was  commonly  made  the  occasion. 
Monthly  or  fortnightly  confession  is  commended  to  those  who  wish 
to  live  devout  lives.^ 

But  the  public  spiritual  ministry  of  Fra  Girolamo  was  by  no 
means  confined  to  his  utterances  from  the  pulpit.  If  the  reforms 
which  he  had  at  heart  were  to  be  effectively  carried  out  there  was 
need  of  organisation.  An  impressionable  and  vivacious  people  like 
the  Florentines  could  not — as  it  seemed  to  him — be  weaned  from 
their  pageants  and  festivities,  which  tended  more  and  more  to 
assume  a  character  of  scandalous  licentiousness,  by  the  purely 
negative  method  of  repression  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  could  these 
same  people  be  expected  to  invent  a  substitute  for  themselves. 
Accordingly,  we  find  that  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in  his 
great  work  of  reformation  lay  in  the  devising  of  religious  celebra- 
tions which  were  to  take  the  place  of  the  unhallowed  and  often 
sinful  diversions  of  the  past.  In  so  doing  he  was  only  carrying  out 
the  principle  adopted  by  the  Church  in  her  peaceful  warfare  with 
paganism  long  centuries  before  ;  ^  a  principle,  too,  which  had  been, 
and  was  to  be,  carried  out  in  Christian  Italy  by  many  another 
devoted  priest  besides  Fra  Girolamo.  We  have  already  touched 
upon  the  point  above,  but  it  deserves  more  particular  treatment 
here.  "  Had  there  been  bonfires  in  the  old  time,"  the  bonfires  of  the 
capanucci  during  the  Carnival  ?  "  There  was  to  be  a  bonfire  now, 
consuming  impurity  from  off  the  earth.  Had  there  been  symbolic 
processions  ?  There  were  to  be  processions  now,  but  the  symbols 
were  to  be  white  robes,  and  red  crosses,  and  olive  wreaths — emblems 
of  peace  and  innocent  gladness — and  the  banners  and  images  held 
aloft  were  to  tell  the  triumphs  of  goodness.  ...  As  for  the 
collections  from  street  passengers  "—made  by  means  of  stili,  or  rods 

*  Luotto,  pp.  162,  sqq.  '•'  Luotlo,  p.  38.  ^  LuoUo,  p.  149. 


THE  PREACHER  41 

with  which  the  importunate  solicitors  of  alms  stopped  the  way — "  they 
were  to  be  greater  than  ever — not  for  gross  and  superfluous  suppers, 
but  for  the  benefit  of  the  hungry  and  needy."  ^  So  writes  the  author 
of  Ro?noia,  and  indeed,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  processions 
organised  by  Fra  Girolamo  were  in  the  nature  of  very  solemn  acts 
of  public  religious  worship,  well  suited,  in  their  main  features,  to 
the  character  of  the  people  who  took  part  in  them.  Possibly  Dr 
Pastor,  in  dealing  with  this  branch  of  the  subject,  has  not 
sufficiently  taken  account  of  the  wide  gulf  which  separates  the 
childlike  enthusiasm  of  the  people  of  Italy  from  the  comparatively 
undemonstrative  disposition  of  the  Teutonic  races.-  At  the 
same  time,  after  making  every  allowance  under  this  head,  it  would 
seem  that  Savonarola  can  hardly  be  exonerated  from  the  charge  of 
imprudence  as  regards  some  at  least  of  the  extra-liturgical  functions 
which  he  set  on  foot.  All  the  world  has  heard  of  the  famous 
"pyramid  of  vanities,"  in  which,  on  more  than  one  occasion  during 
his  ministry,  an  immense  collection  of  immoral  books,  lascivious 
pictures,  masks,  mirrors,  "  dead  hair,"  cosmetics,  cards,  dice,  daggers, 
all  the  apparatus  of  licentious  gallantry,  of  extravagant  play,  of 
vindictive  passion,  were  publicly  consigned  to  the  flames  in  a  great 
holocaust  of  penitence.  The  act,  taken  by  itself,  was  well  con- 
ceived, and  need  cause  no  surprise.  We  read  of  such  bonfires  in 
the  life  of  S.  Bernardine  of  Siena  half  a  century  earlier,^  and  we 
read  of  them  in  the  lives  of  other  successful  preachers  in  Italy  down 
to  a  much  later  date.  But  some  at  least  of  the  details  of  this  and 
similar  celebrations,  as  carried  out  under  the  directions  of  Fra 
Girolamo,  are  such  that,  when  we   read   the  description  of  them, 

*  Roiiiola,  ch.  xlix.  "  Tenevano  bastoni  lungi  in  mano  accio  che  non  pas- 
sasseno  se  prima  non  pagavano  qualche  cosa,"  writes  Somenzi,  describing  the 
proceedings.  Del  Lungo  explains:  "  Era  I'usanza  delli  stili,  come  chianiavano 
que'  bastoni,  co'quali  sbaravano  la  via  a'  cortei  delle  spose  novelle  per  averne  di 
che  far  cene  e  baldorie.  II  Frate  accorto  volgeva  a  bene  li  stromenti  di  corruzione 
per  poi  toglierli  afl'atto.  Anche  i  famosi  bruciamenti  potrebber  crcdersi  ispirati 
da  que'  capanucci  carnevaleschi,  intorno  a  cui  i  ragazzi  ardevano  stipa  e  fascine, 
ballandovi  pazzamente  d'intorno  e  giuocando  a'  sassi"  {A.  S.  /.,  N.S.  xviii., 
ii.  9). 

-  Luotto  reminds  Dr  Pastor  (p.  143)  that  plenty  of  customs  have  survived  in 
Italy  down  to  comparatively  recent  times  which  would  be  deemed  ridiculous  in 
any  northern  country.  In  Florence  itself,  for  several  centuries,  each  newly-elected 
archbishop  went  through  a  symbolical  ceremony  of  betrothal  with  the  abbess 
of  S.  Pier  Maggiore,  this  lady  representing  the  Church  of  Florence. 

*  Luotto,  p.  157. 


44  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

given  in  all  simplicity  by  his  devoted  follower  Burlamacchi,  it  is 
difficult  to  repress  a  smile.  We  read  of  a  solemn  procession  in 
which  there  walked  more  than  five  thousand  boys,^  many  of  them 
"in  the  form  of  beautiful  angels,"  others  carrying  alms-boxes, 
followed  by  the  religious  of  the  different  Orders,  the  secular  clergy, 
and  then  the  laity,  men,  women,  and  girls,  all  in  their  order.  "  So 
great  was  the  fervour  of  that  day  that  not  children  and  women 
alone,  but  also  men  of  station  and  position  .  .  .  laying  aside  all 
human  respect,  robed  themselves  in  white  garments  like  the 
children,  and  danced  and  sang  before  the  '  Tabernacle '  {i.e.  the 
image  of  our  Saviour,  which  was  carried  in  the  procession)  like 
David  before  the  ark  .  .  .  crying  out  loud  with  the  children  '  Viva 
Gesu  Cristo,  Re  nostro  ! '"  In  this  order  the  procession,  after 
visiting  S.  Giovanni  and  the  Duomo,  returned  at  last  to  S.  Marco, 
whence  it  had  set  forth.  There  all  the  Friars  came  forth  from  the 
convent,  vested  in  albis,  "  each  one  wearing  a  garland  on  his  head, 
and  they  formed  in  a  great  circle  round  the  entire  Piazza,  dancing 
and  singing  Psalms."  ^ 

"  Had  there  been  dancing  in  a  ring "  (we  quote  again  from 
Romold),  "  under  the  open  sky  of  the  piazza,  to  the  sound  of 
choral  voices  chanting  loose  songs?  There  was  to  be  dancing  in 
a  ring  now,  but  dancing  of  monks  and  laity  in  fraternal  love  and 
divine  joy,  and  the  music  was  to  be  the  music  of  hymns."  This, 
surely,  was  to  carry  the  principle  of  adoption  and  adaptation,  the 
principle  of  spoiling  the  Egyptians,  a  little  too  far.  It  may  very  well 
be  that  the  dance,  as  Cosci  has  suggested,  was  little  more  than  a 
processional  march  round,  with  steps  keeping  time  to  the  music; 
but  Friars  wearing  garlands  on  their  heads  must  surely  have  trodden 
dangerously  near  to  that  proverbial  precipice  over  which  it  is  so  easy 
to  fall  from  the  sublime  to  the  laughable."  The  procession  above 
described  took  place  in  1497,;  t>^^  '"  ^49^  ^^^  programme  was 
more  highly  developed.  This  time  we  read  of  three  circles;  an 
inner  ring  of  novices  each  attended  by  a  child  "  dressed  as  an  angel," 

^  Cinozzi,  p.  10.  The  numbers  are  variously  given  by  Landucci,  .Somenzi, 
and  Burlamacchi.     Cinozzi's  estimate  is  moderate. 

-  "  Tutti  i  Frati  convennero  uscili  dal  Convento  senza  cappa  m  aibis  con  una 
ghirlanda  in  capo  per  uno,  e  fecero  un  hallo  tondo  grande  quanto  la  piazza, 
cantando  e  salineggiando  innanzi  "  (Burlamacchi,  p.  121). 

^  "  Fiir  die  Liicherlichkeit  solcher  Miltel  hatte  Savonarola  keinen  Sinn" 
(Pastor,  iii.  151).  Did  not  Savonarola  on  this  occasion  simply  transfer  to  the 
streets  of  Florence  a  piece  of  Fra  Angelico"b  picture  of  the  Last  Judgment  ? 


THE  PREACHER  43 

a  second  ring  of  students  ("  yiovani  del  Convento  " )  each  with  a  lay 
youth  for  his  companion,  and  a  third  and  outer  ring  of  priests  and 
older  religious,  wearing  garlands,  and  each  accompanied  by  a  grave 
citizen. 1     It  can  hardly  be  wondered  at,  that  Florence  became  the 
laughing  -  stock  of  Italy,  or  that  Fra  Girolamo  should  himself  have 
felt  that  he  was  taking  a  bold  step.     Speaking  of  one  of  his  earlier 
processions  he  says :    "  I  have  for  once  made  you  all  become  as 
fools.     It  is  not  so?     But  it  is  not  we  who  have  done  this,  it   is 
Christ.  .  .  .     Often  have  I  preached  to  you  against  worldly  wisdom, 
and  now  it  seems  that  you  yourselves  wish  to  confound  it  by  yt^ur 
actions.     What  will  you  say  if  one  day  I  shall  make  you  commit  a 
yet  greater  folly  ?     But  it  will  not  be  my  doing,  it  will  be  Christ's, 
that  one  day  you  shall  even  dance,  in  the  piazza  yonder,  round  the 
crucifix,  the  old  as  well  as  the  young ;  and  what  will  you  say  then  ?  "  ^ 
And  he  goes  on  to  warn  his  hearers  that  although  occasionally  it  is 
well  to  be  foolish  with  a  holy  folly  for  Christ's  sake,  yet  this  is  not 
to  be  done  often.     As  a  rule,  gravity  is  to  be  observed,  but  the 
example  of  David  is  worthy  of  our  imitation  on  occasion.      Who 
does   not    see    that    the   perfervid   enthusiast   is  here  allowing  his 
better  judgment  to  be  dominated  by  his  imaginative  reminiscences 
of  Old  Testament  scenes;   and  that  he  is  at  pains   to  justify  the 
process  by  investing  the  workings  of  his  over-excited  fancy  with  a 
kind  of  divine  halo?    And  who  does  not  see  that  by  such  excesses 
he  was  preparing  the  way,  as  I)r  Pastor  points  out,  for  a  disastrous 
reaction  ? " 

It  would  be  ditificult  to  speak  too  highly  of  the  splendid  work 
which  Fra  Girolamo,  ably  seconded  by  Fra  Domenico  Buonvicino  da 
Pescia,  carried  out  in  reformation  of  the  children  and  youth  of 
Florence.  Like  S.  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  he  wisely  perceived  that 
whatever  hope  there  might  be  of  the  reform  of  society  at  large  lay  in 
the  rising  generation.  And  what  he  effected  in  this  particular  has 
been  admirably  set  forth  by  Cinozzi. 

"  I  must  tell  you  [he  writes]  of  the  fruit  which  his  teaching  produced  in 
the  children,  boys  and  girls,  of  the  city.  And  first  I  will  speak  of  the 
girls.  You  know  that,  speaking  generally,  it  seems  as  though  they  have 
naturally  no  other  inclination  except  to  dress  themselves  showily,  and 

^  Burlamacchi,  p.  126. 
*  S.  42  on  Amos,  etc.  (Luotto,  pp.  139-40). 

»  "  Er  hedaclite  nicht  .  .  .  dass  die  (Jewaltsanikcit  seiner  Bekelirungs- 
maschiiierie  eine  (Jcgenbewe^ung  heivorrufen  mussle  "  (I'aslur,  ii;.  i^i',- 


44  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

to  give  themselves  up  to  all  manner  of  vicious  vanity  (di  cose  massime 
lascive  e  vane),  and  to  spend  wellnigh  all  their  time  in  these  things. 
But  all  this  they  put  away  under  the  influence  of  the  Father's  preaching. 
Not  that  they  laid  aside  what  was  suitable  to  their  state  of  life,  or  that 
they  showed  themselves  wanting  in  good  breeding  ;  but  they  deprived 
themselves  of  all  superfluities  and  of  unbecoming  costumes,  saying  to 
their  mothers— and  especially  those  of  noble  birth  :  '  Mother,  whatever 
you  would  have  spent  on  our  adornment,  give  it  to  the  poor  of  Jesus 
Christ.'  And  so,  having  given  themselves  entirely  to  our  Lord,  they 
lived  in  the  greatest  charity. 

"  But  words  fail  me  when  I  try  to  set  forth  the  change,  the  wonderful, 
stupendous,  and  almost  incredible  conversion,  of  so  many  thousands  of 
boys  of  every  condition  of  life.  What  they  were,  how  deeply  plunged  in 
every  kind  of  vice,  every  one  knows  who  has  lived  in  this  city.  Their 
dress  bespoke  both  pride  and  a  shameless  lack  of  modesty  ...  so  that 
Florence  had  become  another  Sodom,  a  thing  horrible  to  think  of ;  they 
were  gamblers,  blasphemers,  and  given  up  to  every  kind  of  vice.  But 
under  the  influence  of  the  Friar's  preaching  they  became  entirely  changed, 
laid  aside  their  vain  and  unbecoming  modes  of  dress,  desisted  from  the 
vices  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  became  so  fervent  as  to  be  an  example 
to  all  Florence.  In  their  faces  there  shone  the  radiance  (uno  splendor)  of 
divine  grace,  so  that  by  their  means  a  great  work  was  achieved."  ^ 

It  would  not  of  course  be  safe  to  take  quite  literally  every  word 
of  this  description,  coming  as  it  does  from  the  pen  of  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  Savonarola.  But  about  the  main  facts  of  the  case  there 
can,  we  think,  be  no  manner  of  doubt.  And  we  may  be  quite  sure 
that  it  has  been  reckoned  to  Fra  Girolamo's  account  by  the  divine 
lover  of  children  that  he  succeeded  in  winning  over  so  many 
thousands  of  them,  for  a  time  at  least,  to  a  good  and  edifying  life. 
And  it  would  be  ungenerous  to  blame  him  with  any  degree  of 
severity  for  whatever  element  of  excess  or  unwisdom  it  may  be 
possible  to  discover  in  his  efforts  on  their  behalf.  And  yet  if  a 
biographer  is  not  to  be  a  mere  panegyrist,  he  must  needs  take 
account  of  defects.  It  would  therefore  be  a  mistake  to  pass  over  in 
silence  certain  elements  in  Fra  Girolamo's  scheme  of  social  regenera- 
tion which  were,  to  say  the  least,  of  questionable  prudence,  and 
which,  in  our  own  days  no  less  than  in  his,  have  been  somewhat 
severely  criticised. 

1  Cinozzi,  p.  7.  We  have  been  obliged  to  paraphrase  one  or  two  portiiuis  of 
this  passage,  and  also  lo  omit  a  poilion  of  the  writer's  very  plain-spoken  description 
of  the  wickedness  which  had  prevailed  before  Fia  Girolamo  came  to  the  rescue  of 
these  victims  of  bad  example  and  of  evil  influences,  as  well  as  of  their  own  bad 
passions. 


THE  PREACHER  4$ 

Cinozzi  has  told  us  tliat  Savonarola  not  only  reformed  the 
children  themselves,  but  also  by  means  of  them  set  on  foot 
"extensive  operations"  ("si  facevono  operazioni  grandissime "). 
With  the  help  of  Fra  Domenico  they  were  organised  into  a  kind 
of  spiritual  militia,  divided  into  companies  corresponding  to  the 
several  quarters  of  the  city,  each  with  its  own  gonfaloniere  and  staff 
of  officers.  The  duties  assigned  to  them  were  not  merely  the 
preservation  of  order,  the  securing  of  regular  attendance  at  the 
church  services,  and  the  repression  of  abuses  among  themselves, 
but  also  the  collection  of  alms  for  the  poor,  and  in  particular  the 
levying  of  contributions  for  the  bonfire  of  vanities.^  The  pro- 
ceedings, as  viewed  from  a  purely  naturalistic  standpoint,  have  been 
vividly  depicted  by  George  Eliot.  "The  beardless  inquisitors, 
organised  into  little  regiments,  doubtless  took  to  their  work  very 
willingly.  To  coerce  people  by  shame,  or  other  spiritual  pelting, 
to  the  giving  up  of  things  which  it  will  probably  vex  them  to  part 
with,  is  a  form  of  piety  to  which  the  boyish  mind  is  most  readily 
converted ;  and  if  some  obstinately  wicked  men  got  enraged,  and 
threatened  the  whip  or  the  cudgel,  this  also  was  exciting."  And 
again,  after  speaking  of  the  procession  as  "a  sight  of  beauty,"  she 
writes :  "  Doubtless,  many  of  these  young  souls  were  laying  up 
memories  of  hope  and  of  awe  that  might  save  them  from  ever 
resting  in  a  merely  vulgar  view  of  their  work  as  men  and  citizens. 
There  is  no  kind  of  conscious  obedience  that  is  not  an  advance  on 
lawlessness,  and  these  boys  became  the  generation  of  men  who 
fought  greatly  and  endured  greatly  in  the  last  struggle  of  their 
Republic."-  And  certainly,  without  taking  this  merely  utilitarian 
view  of  religious  ceremonies  and  religious  organisation,  we  may 
commend  the  wisdom  which  enlisted  the  enthusiasm  of  the  young 
folk  of  Florence,  and  drilled  it  to  a  holy  purpose.  But,  unfortunately, 
the  wisdom  of  Savonarola  was  not  of  that  kind  which  knows  where 
to  draw  the  line  in  the  employment  of  means  for  the  attainment  of 
an  end  excellent  in  itself;  and,  unfortunately,  he  did  not  confine  his 
troops  of  young  enthusiasts  to  the  laudable  work  of  collecting  alms, 
and  heaping  up  gewgaws  in  a  bonfire.  They  might  be  usefully 
employed,  he  conceived,  for  the  purpose  of  the  much- needed 
repression  of  gambling.  So  widespread  and  so  disastrous  in  its 
consequences  had  this  passion  become,  that  the  intervention  of  the 
civil  government  seemed  to  be  imperatively  called  for;  nor  can  we 

*  Cinoz/i,  p.  9,  *  Koniola,  ch.  xlix. 


46  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

be  surprised  that  Fra  Girolamo  should  have  welcomed  stringent 
legislation  on  the  subject.  And  here  we  must  needs  pass  over, 
with  the  briefest  possible  mention  of  it,  a  matter  on  which  we 
should  have  liked  to  dwell  at  greater  length.  In  estimating  the 
character  of  Fra  Girolamo's  ministry,  account  must  be  taken  of 
the  sternness  with  which  in  his  sermons  he  repeatedly  called  on 
the  Signory  to  repress  public  vice,  not  gambling  alone,  but  blasphemy 
also  and  scandalous  immorality,  by  the  infliction  of  the  severest 
penalties.^  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  wisdom  or  unwisdom 
of  inflicting  such  penalties  in  an  age  very  different  from  our  own, 
it  may  at  least  be  doubted  whether  it  formed  a  part  of  the  ofifice  of 
a  Christian  preacher  to  stir  up  the  civil  magistracy  to  this  particular 
form  of  activity.  But  to  return  to  the  children.  Fra  Girolamo 
used  the  ascendency  which  he  had  gained  over  them,  and  the 
associations  in  which  he  had  organised  them,  for  the  purpose  of 
exercising  through  them  a  kind  of  inquisitorial  surveillance  over  the 
households  even  of  their  own  parents.  And  when  we  read  that  he  en- 
couraged children  and  servants  to  give  information  to  the  magistrates 
concerning  domestic  breaches  of  the  law,  we  cannot  be  surprised 
that  his  action  should  have  given  offence ;  and  there  was  at  last 
some  cause  to  fear  lest  he  should  give  to  the  children  themselves  a 
false  idea  of  their  own  position  and  importance  w-hich  might,  in  the 
long  run,  be  mischievous  in  its  results. ^ 

"  I  hear,"  said  Fra  Girolamo  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  that 
gambling  goes  on  in  the  city.  It  is  for  you,  my  lords,  to  take 
measures  that  gambling  be  prohibited  even  in  private  houses.  You, 
children,  if  you  know  of  such  cases,  accuse  the  delinquents ;  but 
do  not  attempt  to  force  an  entrance  into  private  houses,  for  I  do 
not  wish  you  to  create  a  scandal."  ^  And  again  :  "  The  children 
have  more  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  than  you  have.  But  opposition 
has  been  aroused  against  them  by  citizens,  priests,  and  friars.  .  .  . 

^  Pastor,  loc.  cit.  ;  Beurtheihing,  pp.  58  sqq.  ;  Luotto,  pp.  184  sqq. 

*  Fra  Girolamo,  in  at  least  one  of  his  sermons,  called  upon  the  Signory  to  pass 
a  law  whereby  any  slave  who  gave  information  against  his  master  should  be 
forthwith  liberated  if  his  accusation  were  proved  true  (Luotto,  p.  203).  That 
there  should  have  been  slaves  at  all  in  Italy  in  the  fifteenth  century  was  nothing 
short  of  a  detestable  and  demoralising  abuse,  to  the  enormity  of  which  Dr  Pastor 
has  done  full  justice  {History,  v.  126  sqq.).  But  it  does  not  follow  that  Savona- 
rola's proposal  was  a  wise  one  ;  and  possiljly  it  was  calculated  rather  to  cause 
irritation,  and  to  lead  to  the  levying  of  blackmail,  rather  than  materially  to  diminish 
the  evil  against  which  it  was  directed. 

'  S.  17  on  Amos  (Luotto.  p.  186) 


THE  PREACHER  47 

Why  should  they  be  hindered  from  doing  good?  These  children 
are  the  scourge  wherewith  the  Lord  purges  His  temple — a  scourge 
which  makes  its  way  through  the  whole  city,  overturning  the  tables 
of  the  money-changers,  that  is  to  say  of  the  gamblers.  To  what  a 
pass  are  we  Christians  come,  that  when  any  one  seeks  to  do  good, 
be  he  priest,  or  friar,  or  child,  every  one  is  down  upon  him  ? " 
Yet  again  he  cries  :  "Children,  go  round  and  see  how  matters  stand, 
for  I  hear  that  gambling  has  begun  once  more.  The  Board  of 
Eight  will  give  you  permission  to  confiscate  the  cards  of  those  whom 
you  may  find  gambling.  .  .  .  Therefore,  my  children,  go  round 
and  see  that  no  gambling  goes  on." 

And  in  fact  Burlamacchi  tells  us  how  a  deputation  from  the 
children  waited  on  the  Signory,  and  how  one  of  their  number  made 
a  set  speech  before  them  to  this  effect :  "  Magnificent  and  most 
excellent  Lords !  The  Almighty  God,  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,  who  of  His  goodness 
and  clemency  wishes  to  be  in  a  special  manner  the  King  of  this 
city,  and  His  Mother,  Mary,  ever  Virgin,  our  Queen,  have  delivered 
this  city  from  bondage,  and  restored  it  to  liberty,  to  the  end  that  it 
might  better  reform  itself.  .  .  .  And  for  this  purpose  they  send  us 
their  prophets  [i.e.  Fra  Girolamo  and  Fra  Domenico  da  Pescia]  to 
give  us  light  and  fervour  of  spirit  through  their  holy  preaching. 
Therefore,  leaving  aside  our  old  evil  customs  and  abominable  vices, 
let  us  conform  ourselves  to  a  better  mode  of  life.  ...  As  for  us, 
we  have  completed  our  own  scheme  of  reform,  and  have  set  it  down 
in  writing;  wherefore  we  pray  your  lordships  to  confirm  it  by  your 
authority,  in  order  that  we  may  the  more  courageously  carry  out  our 
undertaking,  and  hunt  down  {persegidtare)  the  vices  and  horrible 
crimes  which  hitherto  have  prevailed  in  our  city,  planting  in 
their  stead  holy  virtues  and  good  customs."  No  one  of  course 
supposes  that  the  youthful  spokesman  expressed  himself  precisely 
in  these  words.  But  it  is  an  admirer  of  Savonarola  who  gives  us  the 
substance  at  least  of  this  unique  oration.  The  reader  may  draw 
his  own  conclusions ;  our  own  impression  is  that  these  youngsters 
were  in  some  danger  of  being  trained  up  to  a  particularly  odious 
form  of  Pharisaic  pride.  No  wonder  that  many  of  the  Florentine 
citizens,  at  least  of  the  more  worldly  sort,  were  minded  to  send 
their  children  elsewhere,  that  they  might  be  delivered  from  the 
domination  of  this  extraordinary  Friar.  "  Send  them  away  whither 
you  will,"  he  cried,  "you  will  see  that  they  will  return." 


48  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

It  is,  however,  only  fair  to  Savonarola  to  add  that,  among  the 
virtues  for  which  his  youthful  apostles  are  said  to  have  been  con- 
spicuous, was  that  of  obedience  to,  and  respect  for,  their  parents  and 
elders.  No  one,  assuredly,  would  accuse  the  Friar  of  having  con- 
sciously imbued  them  with  anything  resembling  a  spirit  of  in- 
subordination or  self-conceit;  nor  again  would  we  be  understood  as 
suggesting  that  some  little  failing  in  this  direction  was  an  evil 
comparable  with  those  from  which  he  had  delivered  them.  But  the 
danger  was  there ;  and  the  measures  and  methods  which  created  it 
appear  to  us  to  have  at  least  fallen  short  of  the  perfection  ot 
apostolic  prudence.  S.  Francis  Xavier  was,  to  say  the  least,  as  eager 
to  avail  himself  of  the  ministry  of  children  as  Fra  Girolamo 
Savonarola ;  but  we  take  leave  to  doubt  whether  the  system  of 
youthful  police  and  espionage  which  Fra  Girolamo  set  on  foot 
would  have  had  his  full  approval. ^ 

^  Dr  Schnitzer  (^H.P.B.  xxv.  355)  draws  attention  to  the  fact  that,  before 
the  time  of  Savonarola's  ministry,  the  lads  of  Florence  had  distinguished  them- 
selves by  a  sort  of  hooliganism  which  made  them  a  terror  in  the  city.  "  Pueri 
quoque  mir.i  Florentine  utentes  licentia,"  says  the  Sienese  historian,  Tizio,  and 
Landucci  {^Diario,  pp.  21,  53,  66)  gives  several  concrete  instances  of  their  violence. 
This,  as  Dr  Schnitzer  very  rightly  says,  should  be  taken  into  account  in  any 
estimate  which  may  be  formed  of  Savonarola's  efforts  to  drill  and  organise  them 
to  some  good  purpose. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON    THE    WATCH-TOWER    OF    ITALY  :     THE 

COMPENDIUM  REVELATIONUM 

SAVONAROLA,  as  has  been  seen,  opened  his  career  of  preaching 
at  Florence,  in  August  1490,  with  a  series  of  denunciatory 
sermons.  And  aUhough,  in  the  following  Lent,  when  he  preached 
in  the  Duomo,  he  took  for  his  subject  "  the  Gospels,"  there  could 
be  no  doubt  that  his  mind  was  predominantly  occupied  with  the 
thoughts  and  convictions  which  he  had  drawn  from  his  study  of  the 
prophetical  books  of  the  Old  and  of  the  New  Testament.  So  deep 
was  his  sense  of  the  similarity  of  the  circumstances  of  his  own  time 
with  those  of  the  decadence  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  that  he 
conceived  himself  to  have  been  specially  inspired  by  God  to  warn 
his  fellow-countrymen — not  of  Florence  alone,  but  of  all  Italy — 
of  the  terrible  chastisements  which  were  about  to  fall  upon  them, 
and  even  believed  that  special  revelations  on  the  subject  had  been 
accorded  to  him.  We  say  advisedly  that  he  conceived  himself  to 
have  been  thus  inspired  and  thus  favoured  with  divine  revelations, 
because — for  reasons  which  we  shall  presently  give — we  cannot  admit 
the  probability  that  either  the  inspiration  or  the  revelations  were 
genuine.  Nor  is  it  without  reason  that  we  have  determined  to  take 
account  of  this  claim  at  a  comparatively  early  stage  of  our 
review  of  his  ministry  at  Florence.  For  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say  that  its  assertion  is  the  very  keynote  of  his  preaching.  It 
is  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Fra  Girolamo,  Father  Ceslas  Bayonne, 
who  writes  : — 

"The  mission  to  announce  publicly  the  coming  renovation  of  the 
Church,  preceded  by  the  chastisement  of  all  Italy,  this  was  the  culminating 
point  of  the  glorious  apostolate  of  Girolamo  ;  whoever  does  not  study 
him  under  this  aspect  is  incapable  of  estimating  his  true  character,  the 
unity  of  his  life,  the  greatness  and  the  beauty  of  the  part  which  he  was 

D  *» 


so  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

providentially  called  to  fill  in  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century."  ^ 

And  Savonarola  himself,  who  had  hardly  begun  to  speak  in  the 
character  of  an  inspired  prophet,  when  remonstrances  on  the  subject 
were  made  to  him  by  the  partizans  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  tells  us 
that  he  had  determined  to  alter  his  method  in  some  degree,  but 
that  he  felt  himself  compelled  by  an  irresistible  power  to  persevere 
with  his  prophecies  and  the  recital  of  his  revelations. 

"  I  remember  [he  says]  that  when  I  was  preaching  in  the  Duomo,  in 
the  year  149 1,  after  I  had  composed  my  sermon  for  the  second  Sunday 
in  Lent  entirely  on  these  visions,  I  determined  to  suppress  it,  and  for 
the  future  to  abstain  from  touching  on  these  matters.  But  God  is  my 
witness  that  throughout  the  whole  of  Saturday  and  of  the  succeeding 
night  as  I  lay  awake,  I  could  see  no  other  course,  no  other  doctrine. 
At  daybreak,  worn  out  and  depressed  by  the  many  hours  I  had  lain 
awake,  while  I  was  praying,  I  heard  a  voice  that  said  to  me  :  'Fool  that 
thou  art,  dost  thou  not  see  that  it  is  God's  will  that  thou  shouldst  keep 
to  the  same  path  ? '  The  consequence  of  which  was  that  on  that  same 
day  I  preached  a  terrible  sermon."^ 

And  he  thus  expresses  his  conception  of  the  office  imposed  upon 
him  by  God  Himself.  "  The  Lord,"  he  says,  "  has  placed  me  here, 
and  has  said  to  me :  '  I  have  placed  thee  as  a  watchman  in  the 
centre  of  Italy  .  .  .  that  thou  mayest  hear  My  words  and  announce 
them  '  (Ezech.  iii.  17)  .  .  .  The  Lord  says  :  'If  I  show  thee  and 
tell  thee  that  a  sword  is  to  come,  announce  the  sword  ;  if  they  will 
not  be  converted,  thou  wilt  have  obeyed,  and  shalt  be  safe.  But  if 
the  sword  come,  and  thou  have  not  announced  it,  and  they  perish 
unwarned,  I  will  require  their  blood  at  thy  hands,  and  thou  shalt  bear 
the  penalty.'  "  ^  Here  assuredly  is  an  uncompromising  claim.  It 
is  not  merely  that  he  is  to  warn  his  hearers  of  those  punishments 
with  which  God  has  threatened  the  sinner  in  the  next  world,  or  to 
remind  them  that  in  the  ordinary  course  of  God's  providence  the 

^  Bayonne,  quoted  by  Luotto,  p.  291. 

'  Compendium  Kevelationuvi,  in  Quetif,  ii.  pp.  227-28. 

8  S.  48  on  Amos  (Luotto,  p.  260).  It  would  have  been  well  perhaps,  if, 
instead  of  trusting  to  an  imaginary  mission,  which  had  all  Italy  for  its  sphere  of 
influence,  he  had  paid  attention  to  the  prudent  counsels  of  S.  Antoninus,  his 
predecessor  (half  a  century  earlier)  in  the  office  of  Prior  of  S.  Marco.  "The 
mission  to  preach,"  he  says  in  effect,  "is  one  which  comes  indeed  ultimately  from 
God,  but  which  must  be  communicated  through  the  channel  of  lawful  ecclesiastical 
authority,  and  must  be  confined  to  the  place  for  which  the  commission  is  given  " 
(Summa  Theologica,  part  iii.  tit.  xviii.  cpp.  i,  3). 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  UV   ITALY  51 

broad  road  of  criminal  self-indulgence,  of  avarice  and  luxury  and 
heartless  oppression  of  the  poor,  all  but  infallibly  leads  to  disaster 
in  one  shape  or  other  ;  but  these  truths  of  faith  and  of  reason  are 
supplemented  by  a  message  which,  like  another  Ezechiel,  he, 
Girolamo  Savonarola,  has  been  personally  commissioned  to  deliver 
from  the  vantage-ground  of  "the  centre  of  Italy."  It  is  a  claim 
which  is  so  forcibly  obtruded  upon  our  notice  from  the  outside  as 
almost  to  preclude  a  mere  suspension  of  judgment.  It  is  a  claim 
which  must  be  either  allowed  or  disallowed. 

We  are  not,  indeed,  shut  up  to  the  alternative  proposed  by  Dr 
Luotto,  viz.  that  Savonarola  was  either  a  true  prophet,  inspired  by 
God,  or  a  rank  impostor.^  There  is  a  middle  term  lying  between 
these  two  extremes ;  and  that  middle  term  is  the  very  simple 
hypothesis  that  he  was  deluded,  as  so  many  men,  before  and  since, 
have  been  deluded  in  the  matter  of  visions  and  revelations. 

Was  then  Savonarola  really  deluded,  or  are  we  to  regard  him  as 
a  true  prophet  ?  We  have  been  admonished,  by  a  learned  admirer 
of  Fra  Girolamo,  that  this  is  a  question  which  must  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  Church.  And  of  course  to  the  Church  alone  it 
belongs  to  pronounce  an  authoritative  decision  on  such  a  matter  ; 
so  that  whatever  is  said  on  the  subject  must  be  said  with  the  fullest 
submission  to  any  such  decision,  if — which  does  not  seem  at  all 
probable — the  Church  should  at  any  time  undertake  to  settle  the 
question.  The  fact,  however,  that  the  Church  has  not  spoken 
authoritatively,  and  is  not  in  the  least  likely  to  do  so,  assuredly 
does  not  stand  in  the  way  of  an  attempt  to  form  a  prudent 
judgment  on  a  question  which  has  always  been  treated  as  open 
to  discussion,  and  which  must  needs  be  of  interest  to  the  student 
of  ecclesiastical  history. 

Since,  however,  our  purpose  in  this  biography  is  not  so  much 
to  enforce  our  own  opinion  as  to  provide  the  reader  with  such  data 
as  are  necessary,  and  may  perhaps  be  sufficient,  to  enable  him  to 
form  an  opinion  of  his  own,  it  has  seemed  well  to  set  forth  here  a 
rather  full  abstract  of  the  Compendium  Revelationnm^  a  work  in 
which  Fra  Girolamo  undertook  to  give  a  complete  account  of  the 
matter  ;  to  which  we  will  append,  in  the  form  of  footnotes,  such 
further  elucidations  of  his  views  or  convictions  on  the  subject  as  may 
be  drawn  from  the  Dyalogiis  above  mentioned.  From  the  nature 
of  the  case  the  two  books  in  great  measure  cover  the  same  ground. 

1  Pastor,  B  utiheilung,  p  30. 


§2  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

"Though  I  have  [he  writes]  during  a  long  period  of  time  foretold,  by 
divine  inspiration,  many  future  things,  nevertheless,  bearing  in  mind  those 
words  of  our  Saviour  :  '  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  to  dogs,'  I  have 
always  maintained  a  prudent  reserve  in  regard  of  these  matters  (semper 
fui  in  dicendo  parcior).  Wherefore  my  'conclusions'  have  been  few, 
though  the  reasons  wherewith  I  have  urged  their  acceptance  have  been 
many.  But  I  have  never  set  forth  the  manner  or  the  number  of  my 
visions  ;  since  the  Holy  Spirit  did  not  inspire  me  to  do  this,  nor  did  I 
think  it  necessary  for  the  good  of  souls.  But  now  I  am  led  to  set  down 
in  writing  some  of  the  chief  predictions  which  I  have  publicly  uttered, 
because  my  words  have  often  been  both  misreported  and  misinterpreted. 
This,  however,  I  will  do  compendiously,  omitting  details,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  vision  with  which  I  was  favoured  on  the  Octave  of  the  Feast 
of  the  Annunciation  (1495),  and  concerning  which  I  then  publicly 
preached. 

"  My  reason  for  writing  is  that  I  neither  can  nor  ought  to  endure  that 
the  mysteries  of  God  should  be  held  up  to  ridicule.  I  know,  indeed, 
that  even  this  book  will  be  misunderstood  by  many,  but  I  am  confident 
that  the  pure  and  simple  of  heart  will  read  it  with  profit. 

"Before  proceeding  to  a  narrative  of  facts,  I  must  first  briefly  declare 
the  nature  (modum)  of  prophetic  revelation.  He  is  rightly  called  a 
prophet  who  sees  things  which  are  beyond  the  scope  of  the  knowledge 
which  is  natural  to  any  creature  ;  and  in  particular  ihose  future  things 
(futura  contingentia)  which  depend  on  the  free  will  of  man.  To  know 
these  belongs  to  God  alone,  who  may,  however,  reveal  them  to  whom  He 
will. 

"  Now,  God  in  revealing  such  matters  does  two  things.  In  the  first 
place.  He  infuses  a  certain  supernatural  light,  by  means  whereof  the 
prophet  perceives  (a)  that  the  things  which  are  revealed  to  him  are  true, 
and  (d)  that  they  proceed  from  God.  And  so  efficacious  is  this  light, 
that  it  gives  the  prophet  full  certainty  on  the  two  points  which  have  been 
mentioned,  just  as  the  light  of  reason  makes  the  philosopher  certain  of 
his  first  principles,  and  makes  the  ordinary  man  certain  that  two  and  two 
make  four.^     Secondly,  this  supernatural  illumination  being  presupposed, 

1  On  this  prophetical  "light,"  Savonarola  discourses  at  considerable  length 
in  the  second  and  third  Books  of  the  Dyalogus.  When  the  eye  sees  colour,  he 
argues,  it  cannot  be  deceived  because  colour  is  its  "proper  object."  "If  all 
mankind  were  with  one  voice  to  bear  witness,  saying  that  the  lily  is  not  white 
but  black,  still  you  would  maintain  that  it  is  white."  (S.  Ignatius  of  Loyola, 
in  the  Spiritual  Exercises,  more  shrewdly  makes  allowance  for  what  we  may 
call  spiritual  colour-blindness.)  Now,  as  there  is  a  physical  light  whereby  we 
discern  colours,  and  an  intellectual  light  whereby  we  apprehend  primary  truths, 
and  a  supernatural  light  of  faith  whereby  we  assent  to  revealed  mysteries,  and 
the  "light  of  glory,"  whereby  the  blessed  see  God  face  to  face,  so  (intermediate 
between  these  two  last)  there  is  a  prophetical  light  whereby  he  to  whom  it  is 
given  perceives  the  truth  and  the  divine  provenance  of  what  it  is  given  him  to 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  53 

Ciod  sets  before  the  prophet  that  which  He  wishes  him  to  know  and 
foretell  ;  and  this  in  various  ways,  viz.  either  with  or  without  a  vision  ; 
or  by  means  of  a  symbolical  vision  whereof  the  sij^nificance  is  made 
known  to  him,  as  in  the  case  of  Daniel  (Dan.  ii.  36)  ;  or  by  means  of 
words  which  the  proj)het  hears  as  uttered  by  various  persons,  which 
words — as  well  as  the  vision  aforesaid — he  knows  to  be  formed  by  the 
ministry  of  angels." 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  apply  this  to  the  matter  in  hand : — 

"Almighty  God  [he  says]  seeing  that  the  wickeaness  of  Italy,  and  in 
particular  that  of  her  rulers,  both  ecclesiastical  and  secular,  is  increased 
beyond  endurance  (Itali;v  peccata  .  .  .  multiplicari  nee  ea  diutius  ferre 
valens),  has  determined  to  purify  (expiare)  His  Church  by  a  terrible 
scourge.  And  since,  as  Amos  the  prophet  says  :  '  God  will  do  nothing 
which  He  has  not  revealed  to  His  servants  the  prophets,'  it  is  His  will 
that  for  the  sake  of  His  elect  this  scourge  should  be  foretold.  And 
whereas  Florence  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  Italy,  like  a  heart  in  the  midst 
of  a  7nan^s  body.  He  has  deigned  to  make  choice  of  her,  to  the  intent  that 
from  her,  as  from  a  centre,  this  prophetic  announcement  should  be  spread 
abroad  through  all  Italy,  as  we  see  to  be  in  fact  the  case. 

"God,  then,  having  among  others  made  choice  of  me,  His  unworthy 
and  unprofitable  servant,  for  this  purpose  [of  announcing  the  coming 
disasters]  caused  me  to  come  to  Florence,  by  order  of  my  superiors,  in 
the  year  1489.  In  this  year,  on  Sunday,  ist  August,  I  began  publicly  to 
expound  the  Apocalypse  in  our  church  of  S.  Marco.  And  in  the  course 
of  my  preaching  throughout  that  year  I  repeatedly  (continuamente) 
insisted  on  three  points  [viz.  the  three  which  have  been  mentioned 
above,  p.  15].  And  these  three  conclusions  I  endeavoured  to  prove  by 
means  of  probable  arguments  from  Holy  Scripture,  and  in  particular  by 
comparisons  which  I  drew  between  what  is  there  read  and  what  is  now 
actually  happening.'  But  at  this  time  I  refrained  from  saying  anything 
which  would  imply  that  I  had  received  any  special  revelation  on  the 
subject,  because  I  saw  that  my  hearers  were  not  rightly  disposed  for  the 
reception  of  this  secret.     But  in  the  years  which  followed,  perceiving  that 


know,  in  the  manner  described  above.  He  then,  as  it  were,  touches  and  handles 
the  truth,  so  that  he  can  no  more  be  deceived  than  a  man  can  be  deceived  in 
thinking  that  he  is  awake  and  not  merely  dreaming.  It  is  true,  indeed,  th-it 
this  subjective  test  is  directly  and  immediately  valid  for  himself  alone,  and  that 
other  proofs  are  needed  to  convince  others  than  himself ;  nevertheless  his 
own  testimony  about  his  own  conviction  is  not  without  weight,  for  those  who  have 
good  reason  to  believe  him  to  be  a  man  of  unimpeachable  veracity  and  rectitude 
of  intention  (Book  iv.). 

'  This  seems  to  be  a  fair  paraphrase  of  the  words  :  "  Ita  vero  tres  con- 
clusiones  probabilibus  argiimentis  et  divinarum  Scriptural  um  figuris,  atque  aliis 
similitudinibus  seu  parabolis  ex  his  formatis  quae  modo  in  Ecclesia  hunt" 
(Qu^tif,  ii.  226-27). 


54  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

the  minds  of  men  were  gradually  becoming  more  ready  to  believe,  I 
occasionally  introduced  some  prophetic  vision,  which,  however,  I  set 
forth  merely  in  the  form  of  a  parable.  But  then  when  I  saw  how  much 
opposition  and  ridicule  arose  on  all  sides,  I  began  to  grow  afraid,  and 
firmly  determined  to  preach  on  other  matters  ;  but  I  was  unable  to  carry 
out  my  resolve.  For  whatever  else  I  read  or  thought  about  only  moved 
me  to  disgust,  and  as  often  as  I  made  an  effort  to  preach  on  some  other 
subject,  I  could  never  satisfy  myself."  ^ 

Here  follows  the  passage,  quoted  above,  about  the  occasion  on 
which  he  tried  in  vain  to  compose  a  sermon  which  should  contain 
nothing  about  the  visions. 

Fra  Girolamo  concludes  this  part  of  the  treatise  by  calling  his 
hearers  to  witness  how  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  expounded  by  him, 
have  frequently  exhibited  a  most  remarkable  congruity,  or  parallelism, 
with  the  actual  course  of  events,  and  by  briefly  relating  the  action 
which  he  took  in  connection  with  the  French  invasion  and  with  the 
reform  of  the  Florentine  constitution.  Of  these  matters  we  shall 
have  to  speak  in  their  proper  place.  For  the  present  we  pass  on 
to  the  second  portion  of  the  Compendium^  which  is  a  verbatim 
report  or  reproduction  of  a  sermon  preached  by  Savonarola  on  ist 
April  1495. 

In  this  discourse,  after  speaking  of  the  delay  in  the  fulfilment  of 
certain  promises  which  he  had  made  in  God's  name  to  the  people  of 
Florence,  Fra  Girolamo  tells  how  he  determined  to  go  on  an 
embassy  to  the  Queen  of  Heaven  on  the  festival  of  her  Annunciation, 
to  beg  her  intercession  on  behalf  of  his  beloved  city,  and  how, 
having  done  so,  he  received  from  her  a  favourable  answer  {i.e.  to 
the  effect  that  she  would  use  her  intercession)  which  he  at  once 
communicated  to  the  people  in  a  sermon  delivered  at  S.  Marco. 
Moreover,  he  had  announced  that  on  the  octave  day  of  the  feast  he 
was  to  be  favoured  with  a  fuller  reply,  in  which  it  should  be  made 
known  to  him  what  had  been  the  issue  of  her  prayers  on  behalf  of 
Florence. 

Wherefore,  he  continues,  on  the  night  which  preceded  the  octave 
day,  being  about  to  start  upon  his  embassy,  he  considered  with 
himself  what  companions  he  should  take.  Rhetoric  and  Philosophy 
offered  themselves,  but  he  would  have  none  of  them ;  and  he  finally 
chose  Faith,  Simplicity,  Prayer,  and  Patience.  Thus  accompanied 
he  set  out  upon  his  journey,   but   was  soon  met  by  the  Tempter 

*  *'  Usque  adeo  deficiebam  ut  mihiniet  ipsi  displicerem," 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  55 

himself,  in  the  guise  of  a  hermit  of  the  desert,  who  entered  into 
conversation  with  him  on  the  subject  of  his  revelation  and 
prediction.  The  conversation  is  reported  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue, 
of  which  we  give  the  substance. 

Thf:  Tkmpter.— Although  I  dwell  in  solitude,  yet,  by  means  of  a 
special  revelation,  I  have  learned  the  good  results  of  your  preaching,  and 
also  that  you  are  animated  by  a  good  intention.  But  it  has  also  been 
made  known  to  me  that  you  are  misguided  by  a  certain  simplicity.  For 
in  order  to  draw  the  people  from  vice  to  virtue  you  have  predicted  various 
tribulations.  But  this  is  not  lawful;  for  God,  who  is  the  Truth,  wishes 
His  preachers  to  be  entirely  truthful. 

Savonarola. — I  am  not  so  ignorant  as  to  be  unaware  that  God 
loves  the  truth,  and  that  it  would  be  a  grievous  sin  to  utter  a  lie  in  the 
pulpit. 1  .And  to  say  that  by  means  of  a  lie  I  have  wrought  good  results 
is  to  say  what  is  self-contradictory.  For  the  results  (fructus)  themselves 
show  that  I  have  not  lied.  Nay,  I  have  often  publicly  called  God  to 
witness,  and  I  do  so  now,  that  if  ever  I  have  uttered  a  deceptive  state- 
ment, /  would  that  He  should  blot  me  out  of  the  Book  of  Life. 

T. — Well,  then,  if  you  are  not  a  deceiver,  at  least  many  think  that 
you  are  moved  by  a  certain  spirit  of  melancholy,  or  that  these  visions 
are  but  dreams,  or  the  effect  of  a  lively  imagination. 

S. — So  far  from  being  melancholy,  I  am  filled  with  a  great  joy,  and  I 
experience  an  illumination  and  behold  visions  which  are  beyond  nature. 
For  I  have  studied  philosophy,  a?id  I  know  how  far  the  tiatural  lii^hi  of 
reason  can  go.  I  know  that  those  things  which  are  made  known  to  me 
are  beyond  its  scope,  and  especially  what  are  called /«/«/-(«  contingentia. 
Moreover,  I  cannot  but  recognise  the  entire  conformity  between  the 
present  state  of  affairs  and  these  expositions  of  Holy  Scripture  which, 
without  any  straining  of  the  text,  I  have  publicly  given.^  But  these  things, 
as  even  a  dullard  must  be  aware,  cannot  arise  from  a  melancholy  tempera- 
ment, or  from  dreams,  or  from  a  strong  imagination. 

T. — Then  it  is  the  effect  of  some  conjunction  of  stars  at  your  birth,  etc. 

S. — This  is  a  foolish  objection,  and  astrology  is  mere  folly. 

T. — Well,  then,  these  things  may  happen  by  the  power  of  the  devil. 

S. — I  have  read  the  Bible,  and  the  lives  and  writings  (doctrinas)  of 
the  saints  from  beginning  to  end  ;  and  therefore  I  know  sufficiently  all 
the  marks  whereby  diabolical  visions  may  be  distinguished  from  those 
which  are  divine.     But  experience  also  shows  how  greatly  they  differ ; 

1  Similarly  in  the  Dyalogus  (book  i.) :  "  Non  sunt  facienda  mala  ut  eveniant 
bona." 

-  In  the  Dyalogus  he  alleges,  among  other  confirmatory  proofs,  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  prophetical  interpretation  of  Holy  Scripture  have  become  so  familiar 
to  his  hearers  that  even  unlearned  women  can  tell  beforehand  how  he  is  going  to 
turn  a  passage.  "Nam  vel  ipsae  mulieres  cum  primum  Evangelia  vel  alias  S. 
canonis  lectiones  pronuntiamus,  antequam  a  nobis  declarentur  ex  iis  quae  apparent 
statim  quod  in  eis  declarandis  consilium  nobis  futurum  sit  ipsae  antea  praesentiunt." 


56  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

(i)  because  the  things  which  I  have  foretold  are  much  more  certain 
for  me  than  their  first  principles  for  the  philosophers  ;  (2)  because  I  see 
that  what  I  have  foretold  is  exactly  coming  to  pass,  and  I  have  never 
been  deceived  even  in  the  smallest  detail.  Again,  the  devil  is  an  enemy 
of  virtue  ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  thought  that  he  would  be  content  to  see 
such  excellent  results  produced  without  either  ceasing  from  his  alleged 
guidance,  or  at  least  drawing  me  into  some  mistake  which  would  destroy 
my  credit.^  Again,  in  the  city  of  Florence  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  men  of 
good  life  adhere  to  my  teaching,  while  the  openly  wicked  attack  both  it 
and  me.  Yet,  notwithstanding  their  opposition,  this  teaching  of  mine 
continues  to  advance  and  prosper,  so  that  the  number  of  our  disciples 
constantly  increases,  while  that  of  our  opponents  grows  less  ;  and  our 
work  gathers  strength,  while  the  efforts  of  our  adversaries  grow  weaker 
and  are  coming  to  naught  (penitus  corruere).^ 

T. — Say  what  you  like  :  for  my  part  I  cannot  beHeve  that  our  Lord 
has  ever  spoken  to  any  one  since  His  ascension. 

S. — On  the  contrary,  it  is  related  that  He  has  spoken  to  many  since 
then  :  first  of  all  to  S.  Paul  ;  then  again  to  S.  Francis,  and  to  many  other 
saints.  Moreover,  Christ  died  for  sinners,  and  allows  Himself  to  be 
handled  by  sinners  in  His  holy  Sacrament,  is  it  then  to  be  wondered  at 
that  He  should  speak  to  a  sinner?^  But  men  are  so  blind  that  they 
pronounce  that  to  be  impossible  which  to  God  is  easy. 

T. — I  admit  that  this  was  possible  in  former  times,  but  not  in  our 
days,  when  there  are  plenty  of  other  means  of  instruction. 

S. — These  other  means  are  sufficient  for  external  instruction.  But  this 
is  to  little  purpose  unless  men  also  have  the  internal  light  of  grace.  But 
over  and  above  this  ordinary  supernatural  light,  there  is  often  need  of  a 
more  special  illumination,  particularly  in  the  case  of  those  who  must 
enlighten  others,  and  the  more  so  when  circumstances  are  such  as  to 
make  it  very  difficult  to  judge  what  is  best  to  be  done.  All  the  volumes 
of  Scripture  and  the  doctors  do  not  provide  for  every  individual  case. 
But,  again,  there  is  a  quite  special  1  ^^ason  for  a  revelation  at  the  present 
time.  For  since  a  renovation  (nur.atio)  of  the  entire  Church  does  not 
usually  take  place  without  being  preceded  by  grievous  tribulations, 
spiritual  and  corporal,  it  is  necessary  that  under  such  circumstances  the 
elect  of  God  should  be  prepared  and  strengthened.  And  therefore  God, 
foreseeing  such  a  renovation,  warns  His  people,  comforts  and  consoles 
them,  through  the  mouths  of  His  prophets.  (Here  Amos  iii.  7  is  again 
quoted.) 

^  The  mistake  might  be,  not  one  which  would  destroy  Fra  Girolamo's  credit, 
but  one  which  would  endanger  the  peace  of  the  Clnnch. 

"^  It  would  seem  as  if  when  these  words  were  written  Fra  Girolamo  looked  on 
external  success  as  a  guarantee  of  divine  favour.  We  are  not  alone  in  thinking 
that  he  was  deceived  by  the  apparent  loyalty  of  the  Palleschi  or  Bigi,  of  whom 
more  anon.  It  cert.iinly  could  not  be  said  that  the  number  of  Savonarola's 
disciples  continued  to  increase  to  the  end. 

•*  Similarly  in  the  Dyalogus^  hook  i. 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  57 

T. — But  did  not  our  Lord  say  :  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the 
times  and  the  moments  "  ? 

S. — If  you  will  look  more  closely  at  the  text  you  will  see  that  this  is  not 
said  of  all  "  times  and  moments,"  but  of  those  times  and  moments  "  which 
the  Father  has  kept  within  His  own  power";  as,  for  instance,  the  day 
of  Judgment.  But  as  for  other  times  and  moments,  that  of  the  deluge 
was  made  known  to  Noe,  to  Jeremiah  the  seventy  years  of  captivity, 
to  Daniel  the  seventy  weeks,  etc. 

T. — But  why  has  God  chosen  ^'^w  rather  than  so  many  others  ? 

S.— Why  did  He  choose  S.  Peter?  It  is  not  for  men  to  criticise 
the  acts  of  God. 

T. — Are  you  then  holier  than  others  ? 

S. — These  gratuitous  gifts  (gratiae  gratis  datae)  are  given  principally 
for  the  benefit  of  others.     And  did  not  God  inspire  Balaam  ? 

T. — I  hear  that  you  have  got  your  prophecies  from  certain  foolish 
women. 

S. — Every  one  knows  that  I  rarely  speak  with  women.  It  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  I  should  place  such  trust  in  them  as  to  dare  to  affirm 
with  certainty  what  I  had  learned  only  from  such  a  source.  By  so  doing 
I  should  expose  the  faith  to  danger  and  myself  to  shame,  in  the  event 
of  some  prediction  failing. 

T. — It  is  said  that  you  enjoy  the  friendship  of  princes,  and  that 
your  knowledge  of  their  plans  enables  you  to  prophesy. 

S.  —  It  would  be  folly  to  trust  in  the  changeable  dispositions  of 
princes.  Even  their  lives  are  not  secure.  To  know  with  infallible 
certainty  what  is  about  to  happen  to  them,  or  through  them,  is  beyond 
the  scope  of  the  intellect  even  of  an  angel. 

T. — They  say  that  you  converse  with  the  politicians  of  the  city, 
and  thus  come  to  know  the  intentions  of  foreign  princes. 

S. — The  objection  does  not  deserve  an  answer.  Common-sense 
teaches  that  no  certain  knowledge  is  to  be  had  by  such  means. 

T.— They  say  that  by  means  of  your  remarkable  cunning  (summa 
astutia),  and  your  intimate  knowledge  of  constitutional  politics,  you  have 
excogitated  these  predictions,  which  you  have  then  so  craftily  expressed, 
that,  in  the  event  of  their  non-fulfilment,  you  might  always  be  able  to 
devise  some  way  out  of  the  difficulty  (e.xcusationis  latibula). 

S.  —  It  is  now  five  years  since  I  began  to  predict  these  things  which 
have  happened  just  as  I  foretold.  Then  they  said  I  was  a  simpleton, 
but,  now  that  the  event  has  shown  that  I  was  right,  they  turn  round  and 
ascribe  it  all  to  my  astuteness,  and  say,  moreover,  that  I  did  not  speak 
plainly.^     But   I  spoke  very  plainly  about  the  French  invasion,  and  I 

*  There  is  a  curious  passage  in  the  DyaIo,!^-iis  in  which  Savonarola  declares  that 
under  the  influence  of  the  prophetic  light  he  has  made  progress,  not  only  in  religious 
knowledge,  but  also  in  philosophy,  mental  and  moral,  attdin  ppUlical  and  economical 
science:  "in  economicae  et  politicae  [>critia,  quarum  rcrum  olini  penitus  expers 
eram  "  (book  iv, ). 


58  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

hope  that  many  further  details  will  hereafter  be  revealed  to  me,  which 
I  shall  set  forth  with  equal  plainness. 

T. I  am  told  that  you  draw  your  prophecies  from  the  writings  of 

S.  Brigit  and  Abbot  Joachim. 

S.— I  assure  you  that  I  have  never  found  any  pleasure  in  reading 
such  things.  My  brethren  can  testify  that  all  my  delight  is  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  in  comparison  with  which  everything  else  seems  insipid.  The 
revelation  of  S.  Brigit  I  have  never  read,  and  little  or  nothing  (rara 
admodum  aut  nulla)  of  those  of  Abbot  Joachim.  And  if  you  do  not 
believe  this,  at  least  do  not  impute  to  me  such  folly  as  it  would  be  to 
assert  with  so  much  confidence  the  truth  of  my  predictions  if  I  had  no 
better  foundation  than  this."?  But  the  strongest  argument  in  my  favour, 
and  one  which  ought  alone  to  be  sufficient,  is  that  sinners  have  been  con- 
verted by  my  preaching.^  It  matters  not  to  me  whether  the  truths  which 
I  preach  are  or  are  not  based  on  the  prophecies  of  others,  provided  only 
that  men  are  converted.  I  have  no  desire  to  be  regarded  as  a  prophet, 
for  this  is  a  name  which  carries  a  heavy  burden  of  danger.  But  in  fact 
I  have  read  no  other  prophecies  except  those  of  the  Bible  ;  and  if,  per- 
chance, at  the  persuasion  of  friends,  I  have  glanced  at  one  or  another, 
I  have  laid  them  aside  after  a  hasty  perusal,  neither  condemning  nor 
approving  them,  but  leaving  them  to  the  judgment  of  God. 

T. — These  alleged  revelations  of  yours  ought  to  have  been  kept  secret, 
for  so  the  Fathers  teach. 

S. — Then  Moses,  Isaiah,  and  the  rest  ought  to  have  been  silent,  and 
so,  too,  S.  Benedict,  S.  Vincent,  S.  Catherine  of  Siena,  S.  Brigit,  and  a 
host  of  other  saints.  Of  course,  such  things  are  not  to  be  spoken  of 
unless  God  should  so  command,  or  the  good  of  our  neighbour  (deo 
pariter  monente)  should  require  it.  Every  one  knows  that  I  speak  of 
these  things  only  in  public.  In  private  I  never  speak  of  them  except 
under  seal  of  secret  to  some  familiar  friend.  Believe  me,  I  keep  many 
things  locked  up  in  my  own  breast,  which  I  have  never  made  known, 
and  never  will  make  known,  unless  God  should  otherwise  inspire  me. 

T. — Whoever  predicts  future  things  should  confirm  the  truth  of  his 
predictions  by  miracles.  [An  argument  is  here  added  from  a  text  of 
the  Decretals,  c.  Cum  ex  injuncio,  Exirav.  de  haereticis,  which  with  its 
answer  need  not  be  here  reproduced.] 

S. — This  is  not  true.  Few  of  the  prophets  worked  miracles.  The 
case  of  Jeremiah,  who  was  accused  of  being  a  false  prophet,  was  to  be 
determined,  not  by  miracles,  but  by  the  event.  Moreover,  it  is  un- 
necessary that  I  should  prove  my  mission  by  miracles,  for  I  have  never 
maintained  that  I  have  been  sent  by  God  alone,  and  not  by  my  superiors. 


'  Besides  the  general  argument  from  results,  Savonarola,  in  the  Dyalo^is 
(book  v.)  urges  the  particular  instance  of  the  Community  of  S.  Marco.  The 
brethren,  he  says,  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  most  of  th^m  men  of 
good  family  and  education.  They  believe  the  prophecies.  Is  it  conceivable  that 
God  should  have  allowed  them  to  be  deceived  ? 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  59 

For  every  one  knows  that  I  was  appointed  by  them  to  the  office  of 
preacliing.  Nor  can  I  be  called  a  heretic.  [This  is  an  allusion  to  the 
text  of  tlic  Decretals  mentioned  above.]  For  I  have  taught  no  dogma 
contrary  to  the  Christian  Faith,  and  I  have  always  sulsmittcd,  and  do 
now  submit,  my  teaching  to  the  judgment  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church. 

T. — In  a  word,  I  don't  like  to  believe  in  a  hurry.  For  it  is  written  : 
"He  who  is  quick  to  believe  is  fickle  of  heart." 

S. — On  the  other  hand,  it  is  written  :  "Charity  belicveth  all  things." 
Both  are  utterances  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they  show  that  a  distinction 
must  be  drawn.  Some  things  we  ought  to  be  slow  to  believe,  e.g. 
detractions  and  whatever  is  against  our  neighbour's  character.  But  we 
ought  to  be  prompt  and  ready  in  giving  credence  to  whatever  promotes 
a  virtuous  life.  S.  Ambrose,  S.  Augustin,  S.  Jerome,  S.  Gregory,  and 
other  holy  Fathers  were  prompt  to  believe  even  what  was  told  them  by 
ignorant  persons,  provided  they  were  of  good  life. 

T. — If  we  are  to  believe  all  such  visions,  we  shall  certainly  be 
deceived.  Therefore  it  is  written  :  "  Prove  the  spirits  whether  they  be 
of  God." 

S. — Herein  lies  a  secret  which  not  every  one  can  comprehend.  The 
light  of  faith  is  a  supernatural  endowment  (forma)  which  is  specifically 
the  same  in  all  who  have  it.  Now  this  light  has  a  natural  afiinity  for  the 
truth  as  for  its  proper  object.  Therefore  no  one  who  is  endowed 
(informatus)  with  this  light  can  firmly  adhere  to  any  error  which  is 
contrary  to  the  faith.  But  as  often  as  a  sincere  and  faithful  man  hears 
something  which  is  beyond  the  reach  of  his  intellect,  it  is  impossible 
that,  if  he  acts  in  conformity  with  this  light,  he  should  give  a  firm  assent  to 
what  is  false  ;  but  he  always  leaves  it  to  the  judgment  of  God  and  the 
Church.  Moreover,  those  who  live  well  and  act  sincerely  (recte  ad 
Deum  ambulant)  have  a  special  illumitiation,  by  reason  of  the  intimate 
bond  of  union  between  charity  on  the  one  hand,  and  faith  and  simplicity 
on  the  other ;  ^  as  it  is  written  :  "  Exortum  est  in  tenebris  lumen  rectis 
corde."  And  by  virtue  of  this  illumination  they  are  inclined  to  discern, 
without  fail,  divine  revelations  and  operations.  And  so  it  is  that  in 
these  matters  the  good  have  not  been  deceived,  but  the  wicked  have. 

T. — But  I  observe  that  the  wisest  and  shrewdest  of  men  hold  these 
revelations  in  contempt. 

S. — It  is  not  a  question  of  human  wisdom,  but  of  a  good  life.  God 
chooses  the  foolish  things  of  this  world  to  confound  the  wise. 

T. — Those  who  believe  these  things  are  few  in  number  by  com- 
parison with  those  who  hold  them  in  derision. 

1  "  Propter conjunctioneincaritatis  cum  fide  et  mentis  rectitudine  et  simplicitate." 
This  seems  to  be  the  true  reading,  as  given  in  the  edition  of  1495.  ^^^  (/•  Qu^tif. 
p.  261.  Similarly  in  the  Dyalogus  (book  i.)  he  argues  that,  since  faith  always 
inclines  a  man  to  believe  what  is  true,  therefore  no  man  can,  stante  habitu  fidei, 
pertinaciously  contradict  a  divinely-inspired  prophecy  or  the  like.  It  is  on  this 
ground  that  he  has  said  of  tliose  who  obstinately  oppose  him  that  llicy  have  not 
the  faith,  are  no  true  Christians,  and  the  like. 


6o  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

S. — The  argument  is  frivolous.  The  truly  wise  are  few,  but  the 
number  of  fools  is  infinite.  But  again  you  must  distinguish  between 
those  who  have  actually  heard  the  preaching  themselves,  and  those  who 
have  only  heard  about  it  from  others.  Among  the  actual  hearers  an 
overwhelming  majority  are  also  believers^  iti  fact,  there  is  hardly  one 
avion ^  7>iy  hearers  who  does  not  also  believe.  But  among  those  who 
have  not  heard  me,  I  admit  that  those  who  do  not  believe  are  in  the 
majority.  For  it  is  one  thing  to  hear  a  man  speak  who  inwardly  feels 
these  things,  and  to  experience  the  fire  (impetum)  of  the  living  voice, 
and  to  feel  the  force  of  the  preacher's  words,  and  to  perceive  the  order 
and  method  of  his  reasoning,  and  its  conformity  with  Holy  Scripture, 
and  quite  another  thing  to  hear  the  cold  and  dry  recital  of  the  same 
truths  by  another  who  does  not  inwardly  feel  them,  and  from  whom 
they  come  in  a  pointless  succession  of  words,  without  life  or  spirit. 

T. — Many  say  that  you  have  predicted  things  which  have  not  come 
to  pass. 

S. — Whatever  I  have  predicted  has  either  already  happened,  or  will 
most  certainly  happen,  nor  will  a  single  jot  of  it  be  unfulfilled.  Of 
course,  in  private  conversation,  1  may  have  made  mistakes  like  any  other 
man.  Therefore  in  the  pulpit  I  have  warned  my  hearers  to  place  no 
more  reliance  on  my  private  utterances  than  on  those  of  any  one  else. 
Moreover,  the  prophetic  spirit  is  not  always  with  me,  but,  as  with  other 
prophets,  so  with  me  it  comes  and  goes.  Nor  does  God  reveal  every- 
thing, but  more  or  less,  according  to  His  will.  It  is  foolish  to  object 
that  I  cannot  read  the  secrets  of  hearts,  for  this  I  do  not  pretend  to  do. 
But  whatever  I  say  in  the  pulpit  has  first  been  sedulously  weighed  in 
the  balance  of  prayer,  and  tested  by  comparison  with  the  sacred  text 
and  with  natural  reason. 

T. — But  surely  it  would  be  much  better  for  you  to  be  silent,  for 
your  name  is  a  byword  in  Florence  and  throughout  Italy. 

S. — My  endeavour  is  to  please  God,  not  men.  All  who  preach  such 
things  are  regarded  as  foolish  by  the  wise  of  the  world. 

T. — If  you  only  made  yourself  ridiculous  it  would  not  so  much 
matter,  but  you  expose  yourself  to  danger. 

S. — I  know  very  well  what  the  prophets  and  Apostles  have  suffered, 
and  I  know  the  blessing  pronounced  on  those  who  are  persecuted  for 
Christ's  sake. 

T. — I  see  that  you  have  an  answer  ready  for  every  objection.  But 
some  are  of  opinion  that  you  deliberately  deceive  the  people  in  order  to 
gain  honour,  and  glory,  and  riches. 

S. — Though  it  is  not  for  me  to  justify  myself  out  of  my  own  mouth, 
yet,  for  the  sake  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  I  will  answer  with  what 
modesty  I  may.  I  confess  myself  to  be  a  sinner,  and  in  need  of  God's 
mercy.  But  remember  that  to  God  alone  it  belongs  to  see  into  the 
heart  of  man.  Those  who  speak  as  you  report  do  so  without  foundation, 
for,  on  the  one  hand,  they  cannot  read  my  conscience,  and  on  the  other 
hand,   they  have    no   external   sign   by   which    to   substantiate   such  a 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  6i 

judgment.    For  assuredly  I  have  not  gained  the  things  which  they  suppose 
me  to  seek. 

The  objections  of  the  Tempter  which  follow  next  in  order  con- 
cern the  affair  of  the  separation  of  S.  Marco  from  the  Lombard 
Congregation  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  and  the  political  activity  of 
Savonarola,  with  which  topics  we  shall  have  to  deal  in  future 
chapters.  We  therefore  omit  them  here,  and  reproduce  only  the 
last  of  this  long  series. 

T. — At  any  rate,  I  think  you  might  preach  about  virtue  and  vice,  and 
leave  prophecy  alone. 

S.— My  answer  is,  that  causes  are  known  from  their  effects.  The 
result  shows  that  the  prophecies  have,  in  fact,  helped  the  cause  of 
moral  reform. 

At  this  point  the  companions  of  Fra  Girolamo  are  observed  by 
him  to  be  smiling  and  conversing  together,  and  on  being  asked: 
"Qui  sunt  sermones  quos  confertis  ad  invicem  et  estis  laetae?" 
they  make  known  to  him  with  whom  he  is  talking. 

The  rest  of  the  book  is  taken  up  with  his  experience  in  the  court 
of  heaven,  when  the  doors  had  been  opened.  Into  the  details  of 
this  description,  Dantesque  in  its  minuteness,  we  need  not  enter, 
but  we  give  in  substance  the  reply  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  to 
his  embassage. 

"O  city  of  Florence  [she  said],  beloved  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  my 
Son,  and  of  myself,  hold  fast  to  your  faith  ;  persevere  in  prayer  ;  be 
strengthened  in  patience.  For  by  these  means  you  will  attain  to  eternal 
salvation,  and  will  gain  glory  among  men." 

Having  said  this  much  she  fixed  her  eyes  on  me  and  was  silent. 
But  I,  with  great  confidence,  replied  : 

"  These,  O  Virgin  Mother,  are  words  of  general  import :  but  thou  must 
needs  dispense  thy  goodness  with  a  more  liberal  hand." 

Then  she  addressed  me  in  the  vernacular  with  such  propriety  and 
elegance  of  speech  (adeo  acommodate  et  eleganter)  that  I  was  astonished. 

"  This  is  the  answer  which  you  must  give  to  my  beloved  people.  It  is 
true  that  they  are  sinners,  and  that  by  their  wickedness  they  have 
deserved  all  manner  of  evils,  especially  by  reason  of  so  tnany  who  will 
not  believe  what  Jar  some  years  past  you  have  predicted :  and  this  not- 
withstanding that  my  Son  has  granted  so  many  signs  as  to  leave  them 
without  excuse.  For  although  faith  is  a  gift  of  God,  nevertheless,  but 
for  their  perversity  and  insincerity,  they  could  have  received  such  light 
from  my  Son  as  would  have  enabled  them  to  believe  all  without  difficulty. 
Warn  them,  therefore,  to  lay  aside  their  hardness  ol  heart,  lest  in  the 
time  to  come  God  should  be  angry  with  them,  whereas,  heretofore,  in 


62  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

spite  of  their  demerits,  He  has  had  regard  to  the  prayers  of  the 
blessed  in  heaven,  and  of  the  just  on  earth,  atid  has  committed  all  power 
to  7)1  e} 

"  For  the  city  of  Florence  shall  become  more  glorious,  more  powerful, 
and  more  wealthy  than  it  has  ever  been,  and  shall  extend  its  borders 
more  widely  than  ever,  beyond  all  the  expectations  of  many.  Whatever 
she  has  lost  \e.g.  Pisa],  and  whatever  she  may  yet  lose,  shall  be  restored 
to  her,  together  with  fresh  acquisitions.  But  woe  to  her  rebellious  subjects, 
for  they  shall  be  severely  punished.  And  it  is  now  four  years  since,  among 
other  things  which  you  have  predicted,  it  was  foretold  to  the  Pisans  that, 
in  the  time  of  your  tribulation,  they  would  seek  to  regain  their  freedom, 
and  that  this  would  be  the  cause  of  their  ruin,  which  will  certainly  come 
to  pass." 

Hereupon  Fra  Girolamo  asks  whether  Florence  will  be  afflicted 
with  tribulations  "  before  the  consolations."     Mary  replies  : — 

"  You  have  predicted  the  renovation  of  the  Church,  which  will  certainly 
take  place,  and  that  quickly.  You  have  also,  under  the  illuminating 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  foretold  that  the  conversion  of  the  infidels, 
i.e.  of  the  Turks,  the  Moors,  and  others,  will  shortly  take  place,  so  that 
many  who  are  now  alive  will  see  it.  Now  this  renovation  and  extension 
of  the  Church  cannot  take  place,  as  you  have  declared,  without  many 
previous  tribulations.  Therefore  let  it  not  seem  strange  if  Florence,  too, 
should  have  her  share  in  these  troubles  ;  but  she  shall  suffer  less  than 
the  rest." 

Herewith  she  gave  my  angel  a  great  globe  wherein  the  whole  of  Italy 
was  contained.  This  my  angel  opened,  and  forthwith  I  saw  Italy 
disturbed,  and  many  great  cities  therein  distressed  by  immense  tribula- 
tions, which  I  am  forbidden  to  disclose.  I  saw  the  city  of  Florence 
likewise  disturbed,  but  much  less  than  the  rest.  Then  the  Blessed 
Virgin  gave  me  a  smaller  globe,  whereon  was  inscribed,  in  Latin,  that 
first  and  briefer  response  which  has  been  given  above.  But  on  opening 
the  globe  I  saw  the  city  all  aflower  with  lilies,  which  also  extended  on 
every  side  beyond  the  city  walls.  Whereupon  I  joyfully  exclaimed  :  "  O 
Lady,  it  seems  that  these  lilies  match  well  with  those  greater  lilies 
[i.e.  the  fleur-de-lys  of  France]  which  have  recently  begun  to  extend 
their  shoots."  Jb  this  she  made  no  answer.,  but  observed  that  if  the 
neighbours  of  Florence,  who  rejoice  in  her  troubles,  knew  what  evils 
were  to  fall  upon  them,  they  would  rather  bewail  their  own  dangers  than 
be  elated  at  the  tribulations  which  others  suffer. 

Then  I  asked  her  what  reply  I  was  to  make  if  I  were  asked  whether 
these  promises  were  absolute  or  conditional.  She  answered  :  "  These 
things  are  granted  absolutely  {i.e.  without  condition),  for  God  will  make 


'  "  Propter  crebras  orationes  beatoruni  .  .  .  et  jusloium  .  .  .  omneiii  niihi 
contulit  poteslatem  "  (p.  356). 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  63 

use  of  every  means  (omnia  media  procurabit  atque  producet)  whereby 
these  graces  may  be  brought  to  their  destined  issue.  Wherefore  do 
thou  assure  the  incredulous  that  not  a  jot  or  a  tittle  shall  pass  away,  but 
all  shall  be  as  has  been  said.  Let  the  wicked  then  do  all  the  evil  they  can, 
they  will  not  be  able  to  hinder  these  benefits,  wherein,  however,  they  shall 
themselves  have  no  share.  As  for  the  good,  they  shall  be  afflicted  with 
less  or  greater  severity,  according  to  their  conduct,  and  in  particular 
according  as  they  show  themselves  exact  or  remiss  in  administering  the 
laws  against  blasphemers,  gamblers,  the  corrupters  of  youth,  and  other 
criminals." 

"  But  [he  asks]  what  am  I  to  say  if  the  question  is  put  to  me  :  'When 
shall  these  things  be?'"  She  replied:  '■'■  Cito  et  7ielociter:  Soon  and 
speedily.  But  as  when  you  first  began  to  predict  that  these  things 
would  happen  '  soon  and  speedily'  you  used  to  add  :  '  I  do  not  say  that 
they  will  happen  within  one,  or  two,  or  four,  or  eight  years,'  without 
however  mentioning  a  longer  interval  than  ten  years,  and  yet  the  scourge 
came  sooner  than  was  expected  ;  so  now  you  must  say  '  soon  and 
speedily,'  without  determining  any  limit  of  time,  and  perchance  these 
things,  too,  will  come  to  pass  sooner  than  is  thought." 

**  With  these  words,"  says  Fra  Girolamo,  "  I  was  dismissed." 
Finally,  after  a  passage  concerning  the  French  invasion,  he  reminds 
his  hearers  that  although  the  promises  made  to  the  city  are  absolute 
and  irrevocable  (quamvis  haec  absolute  et  irrevocabiliter  universae 
civitati  promissa  sunt),  yet  they  are  not  made  to  each  citizen  in- 
dividually. But  if  any  one  will  take  note  of  the  names  of  the 
believers  and  the  incredulous,  he  will  find  that  the  latter  will  have 
to  sufTer,  by  comparison  with  the  former,  a  sevenfold  share  of  dis- 
aster. Many,  he  admits,  will  laugh  at  the  details  of  this  vision  ;  but 
let  them  read  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  and  Zachariah,  in  whose  visions 
they  will  find  plenty  of  mysterious  details.  Nor  are  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  visions  of  the  prophets  set  down  in  Holy  Writ.  But 
this  vision  he  has  felt  compelled  to  describe  in  detail.  Not  even 
the  Gospels,  and  the  teaching  of  Christ  Himself,  escaped  con- 
tradiction. 

The  reader  has  now  before  him  a  tolerably  full  if  not  a  tediously 
circumstantial  summary  of  Savonarola's  own  vindication  of  his  claim 
to  be  regarded  as  a  true  prophet.  Once  more,  then,  we  ask 
ourselves,  was  he  deluded  ?  And  we  proceed  to  give  our  reasons 
for  thinking  that  he  was.^ 

'  The  question  is  discussed  at  considerable  length  by  Prof.  Sihniizer  (^H.P.B., 
xxi.  562  si/ij. ;  cf.  XXV.  265,  413  sqq.^.  He  does  not  venture  to  deciJe  it, 
but  seems,  on  the  \vh>le,  favourable  to  Savonarola's  claim.      So  far  as  we  cm 


64  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

In  the  first  place,  without  denying  that  the  gift  of  prophecy,  like 
that  of  miracles,  may  be,  and  has  been,  communicated  by  God  under 
the  New  Testament  no  less  than  under  the  Old,  we  assert,  without 
fear  of  contradiction,  that  prophecy  does  not  play  the  same  prominent 
part  under  the  Christian  dispensation  as  it  did  under  the  Old  Law, 
and  that  in  any  individual  case  \he  prima  facie  presumption  is  against 
the  genuineness  of  an  alleged  private  revelation,  or  vision,  or 
prophecy,  rather  than  in  its  favour.  For  experience  shows  that 
these  are  matters  wherein  men  are  peculiarly  liable  to  delusion ;  and 
the  very  least  that  can  be  said  is,  that  when  a  man  openly  lays  claim 
to  the  prophetic  gift  the  burden  of  prool  lies  upon  him,  and  not 
upon  those  who  deem  it  the  wisest  course  to  suspend  their  judg- 
ment, and  to  await  the  event.  And  when,  after  the  ultimate  issue 
has  been  awaited,  it  is  found  that  the  event  is  at  least  not  openly 
and  palpably  in  favour  of  the  claim,  the  adverse  presumption  gathers 
strength.  Now  this  appears  to  us  to  be  plainly  and  obviously  the 
case  with  Savonarola.  No  one  can  pretend  that  a  sufficient  interval 
of  time  has  not  elapsed  since  the  death  of  Fra  Girolamo,  whose 
fourth  centenary  was  celebrated  a  few  years  ago,  to  allow  of  a  calm 
and  reasonable  judgment  being  passed  upon  his  alleged  prophetic 
gifts  ;  yet  who  can  say  that  the  verdict  of  prudent  men,  even  of 
those  who  joined  together  in  May  1898  to  celebrate  his  memory,  is 
unanimously  favourable  to  him  in  this  particular  point  ?  And  yet, 
if  the  claim  were  clearly  and  plainly  valid,  a  practically  unanimous 
verdict  is,  as  it  seems  to  us,  what  we  have  a  right  to  expect  before 
admitting  the  claim.  This  consideration,  however,  does  not 
after  all  carry  us  further  than  a  prifud  facie  presumption;  and 
we  must  look  for  some  more  definite  indications  of  truth  or  of 
error. 

see,  he  does  not  suggest  any  point  in  its  favour  which  we  have  overlooked.  He 
lays,  however,  particular  stress  on  the  predictions  concerning  the  King  of  France 
which  so  deeply  impressed  Philipe  de  Comines  ("  Mais  touchant  le  Roy  et  les 
maulx  qu'  il  diet  luy  debvoir  advenir,  luy  est  advenu  ce  que  vous  voyez  ;  qui  fut, 
premier,  la  mort  de  son  fils^  puy  la  sienne,  et  ay  veu  des  lettres  qu'  il  scripvoit  au 
diet  Signeur "),  and  on  the  astounding  calumny  of  the  Friar's  enemies  that  he 
made  use  of  knowledge  gained  in  the  confessional.  "  liabuit,"  says  Burchardus 
(Dianum,  Ed.  Thuasne,  ii.  462),  "intelligentiam  cum  pluribus  ex  patribus  in 
civitate  Florentiae  et  extra  eum  .  .  .  residentibus,  qui  ei  confessiones  Christi 
fidelium  revolarent  cum  confitenlium  nominibus  et  cognominibus"  (!)  But  a 
charge  based  on  the  merest  go'sip,  as  idle  as  it  was  cruel,  deserves — as  it  seems  to 
us — no  serious  attention,  except  as  an  evidence  of  the  lengths  to  which  malice 
could  go.     (See  also  infra,  p.  144  ^wte.") 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  65 

We  turn  then,  in  the  next  place,  to  the  tests  by  which  Savonarola 
was  content  to  try  his  own  predictions.     These  are : — 

(a)  His  own  subjective  certainty. 
(d)  The  fulfilment  of  so  nnany  of  his  predictions. 
(c)  The  admirable  results  produced  by  his  prophetic  utterances. 
{d)  The  alleged  fact  that  they  were  accepted  by  the  good  and 
rejected  by  the  wicked.^ 

Now,  as  regards  the  test  of  subjective  certainty,  Fra  Girolamo  in 
his  Dyalogiis  makes  one  of  his  interlocutors  object  that  this  kind  of 
certainty  could  by  the  nature  of  the  case  be  valid  only  for  himself. 
And  indeed  he  allows  the  force  of  the  objection,  and  admits  that, 
as  far  as  other  men  are  concerned,  his  own  certainty  does  not  of 
itself  constitute  an  adequate  reason  for  their  assent.^  Nevertheless, 
it  may  be  argued,  when  a  man,  whose  veracity  and  integrity  of 
purpose  are  beyond  reasonable  suspicion,  assures  us  that  he  is 
infallibly  assured  of  some  truth  which  he  alone  can  know  (in  this 
case  the  fact  of  a  revelation  made  to  himself),  his  testimony  de- 
servedly carries  considerable  weight  as  creating  a  presumption  in 
his  favour.3  And  this  must  of  course  be  admitted  in  regard  of  all 
such  subjective  experiences  as  are  not  of  their  very  nature  apt  to  be 
illusory.  But  here  again  Fra  Girolamo  has  anticipated  the  implied 
exception.  Eliphaz  (in  the  Dialogue)  reminds  him  that  many  men 
have  been  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  their  revelation  and  yet  have 
been  deceived.  To  this  he  can  only  reply  that  if  they  had  more 
carefully  and  conscientiously  examined  their  experiences,  they  would 
have  discovered  their  mistake ;  *  adding,  however,  that  in  his  case 
the  reluctance  with  which  he  embarked  upon  this  perilous  sea,  the 
earnestness  with  which  he  has  prayed  for  light,  and  other  like  cir- 
cumstances known  to  those  who  really  knew  him,  are  all  in  the 
nature  of  cumulative  evidence  tending  to  establish,  even  for  others, 

*  These  arguments  recur  again  and  again  in  Fra  Girolamo's  Sermons. 
^  Dyalogus,  book  v. 

3  "The  arguments  which  I  have  used,"  he  says  in  effect,  "are  valid  for 
those  '  penes  quos  non  sum  de  mendacio  suspectus  ' "  (book  iv.).  But  without 
bringing  against  the  Friar  any  accusation  of  mendaciousness,  it  is  obviously 
possible  to  entertain  the  hypothesis  of  delusion. 

*  "Mihi  crede,  si  hujusmodi  somniantes  certo  examine  sua  librassent,  lumine 
naturali  rationis  et  supernuturali  lumine  fidei  ea  confeiendo,  non  utique  falsi 
(?.«•.  decepti)  essent  :  nee  duhia  pro  certis  affirmassent"  (book  iii.), 


66  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

a  strong  presumption  that  he  has  not  been  deceived.^  On  some  of 
these  points  we  shall  have  occasion  to  touch  presently.  For  the 
present  we  must  be  content  to  record  our  conviction  that  the 
vehemence  with  which  Fra  Girolamo  insisted  on  his  own  infallible 
certainty  is  alone  sufficient  to  arouse  a  well-founded  suspicion.- 
"The  revelations  of  one  who  does  not  show  positive  signs  of  a 
consistent  humility,"  says  Gerson,  "or  whose  actions  are  not  in 
accord  with  his  protestations  of  humility,  are  not  to  be  accepted  as 
genuine."^  Now  the  knowledge  that  such  exceptional  experiences 
are  too  often  attended  with  delusion,  ought,  it  might  seem,  to  keep 
one  who  is  truly  humble  from  an  over-weening  confidence  in  his  own 
immunity  from  such  deception ;  and  Savonarola's  calm  assurance 
that  he  is  familiar  with  all  the  subjective  tests  of  such  phenomena, 
serves  only  to  remind  us  how  limited  is  the  range  of  psychological 
knowledge,  and  how  unconscious  Fra  Girolamo  appears  to  have 
been  of  these  limitations.  Nor  was  it  merely  that  he  professed  the 
most  absolute  certainty  concerning  a  matter  in  which  the  possibility 
of  delusion  ought  perhaps  to  have  been  more  constantly  kept  in 
mind.  On  at  least  one  very  solemn  occasion  he  publicly  called 
upon  God  to  strike  him  dead  upon  the  spot  if  his  words  were  not 
divinely  inspired.^  Now  it  is  clear  that  no  man  has  a  right  to 
demand  that  God  should  work  a  miracle ;  and,  while  the  challenge 
was  well  calculated  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  the  ignorant  and 
the  credulous,  to  any  one  who  was  not  simply  carried  away  by  the 

*  "  Primum  in  simplicitate  cordis  mei  nuntio  tibi  .  .  .  quod  non  mentior  : 
nam  sedulus  veritatis  semper  observator  fui.  .  .  .  Semper  hoc  primum  doctrinae 
fundamentum  esse  putavi."  And  again  :  "Si  quis  non  solum  secundum  rationem 
sed  etiam  juxta  evangelicam  normam  Dei  gloriam  totus  intendens  recte  vixerit,  et 
quotidie  roget  ab  eo  quod  ad  suam  et  aliorum  pertinent  salutem,  ilium  minima 
credendum  est  quod  Deus  tantum  errorem  dissimulet  et  a  diabolo  .  .  .  decipi 
assidue  permittat "  {ibid.).  But  it  is  not  necessary  in  this  case  to  postulate 
diabolical  agency,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  safely  assign  limits  to  the 
divine  permission  of  self-deception. 

^  Take,  for  instance,  this  one  sentence  :  "  Fateor  inde  \^i.e.  ex  revelationibus] 
ita  fidei  lumen  in  me  adauctum  ut  quae  ad  ipsam  Christi  fidem  pertinent  jam  non 
credam,  sed  propemodum  dicam  et  palpem  "  (book  iv.).  Could  this  be  said  without 
presumption? 

^  Amox\.,De  Kevelationibtis,  etc.,  p.  84.  There  is  of  course  no  lack  of  protes- 
tations of  humility  in  Fra  Girolamo's  writings,  e.g.  "  Spiritus  hie  mens  .  .  .  ab 
omni  superbia  et  inani  gloria  me  purgare  et  custodirc  potissimum  curavit"  {ibid.). 
And  certainly  from  pride  and  vain  glory  of  the  vulgar  and  grosser  sort  Fra 
Girolamo  was  conspicuously  free. 

*  This  was  on  27th  February  1498. 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  67 

feelings  of  the  moment  it  could  prove  nothing,  or  rather  it  could 
only  prove  that  Savonarola  was  capable  of  stooping  to  a  rhetorical 
device  which  was  unworthy  of  himself,  irreverent  towards  God,  and 
of  its  very  nature  deceptive.  We  are  willing  to  believe  that  in 
uttering  this  challenge  Fra  Girolamo  acted  in  good  faith  ;  but  we 
find  it  impossible  to  believe  that  one  who  could  thus  unwittingly 
deceive  others  was  not  himself  the  victim  of  a  delusion. 

Again,  it  seems  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  Savonarola  went 
out  of  his  way  to  expose  himself  to  the  danger  of  self-deception. 
The  recipient  of  what  seem  to  be  visions  or  apparitions,  says  S.  John 
of  the  Cross,  should  as  far  as  possible  resist  and  reject  them,  and 
should  by  no  means  take  pleasure  in  them.  This,  he  says,  is  a  safe 
rule,  because,  if  they  be  in  reality  Divine  favours,  God  will  know  how 
to  work  the  effect  which  He  desires.  Let  the  soul,  he  adds,  neither 
keep  such  visions  or  apparitions  stored  up  in  the  memory,  nor  allow 
itself  to  be  guided  by  them  in  its  actions  or  designs.^  Speaking  of 
words  which  seem  to  be  addressed  by  God  to  the  soul,  he  says  :  "  It 
is  impossible  that  a  soul  which  does  not  regard  such  words  with 
suspicion  {qticz  has  allocutiones  internas  non  horret)  should  not  be 
frequently  deceived";-  and  he  altogether  condemns  the  conduct  of 
those  who  interrogate  God  in  the  hope  of  receiving  a  direct  response.^ 
It  is  true  that  Fra  Girolamo  assures  us,  as  has  been  said,  that  he 
very  reluctantly  entered  upon  his  prophetic  ministry,  and  he  has  told 
us  how  on  one  particular  occasion  he  tried  without  success  to 
compose  a  sermon  in  which  nothing  should  be  said  of  his  visions. 
But  a  single  effort  of  this  kind  falls  far  short  of  that  persevering  and 
consistent  attitude  of  self-distrust  of  which  S.  John  of  the  Cross 
here  speaks,  and  which  is  recommended  by  so  many  others  who 
have  written  on  the  subject.  Again  and  again  did  Savonarola 
"  interrogate  God  in  the  hope  of  receiving  a  divine  response  "  ;  and 
not  merely  this,  but  he  allowed  his  hearers  to  know  that  he  had 
done  so,  and  that  he  expected  an  answer  on  a  definite  date.  This 
surely  was  to  invite  delusion,  and  to  expose  himself  to  a  serious 
temptation. 

There  is,  moreover,  another  aspect  of  the  argument  from  his  own 
subjective  certainty,  advanced  by  Savonarola,  of  which  account  must 
be  taken.  Starting  from  his  own  unshaken  conviction  that  he  was 
the  recipient  of  divine  communication,  Fra  Girolamo  proceeded  to 
assure  his  hearers  that  if  only  they  were  more  pure  of  heart  they  too 

^  Amort,  pp.  207,  216.  -  Ibid.,  p.  228.  *  Ibid-^  p.  2IO. 


68  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

would  be  so  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  they  could  not  fail 
to  recognise  the  truth  of  his  prophetic  utterances.  There  is,  to  our 
thinking,  something  questionable  in  this  rather  disconcerting  appeal 
to  a  tender  conscience.  No  one  has  a  right  to  expect  or  demand 
from  God  a  larger  measure  of  illumination  than  is  necessary  and 
sufficient  to  enable  him  firmly  to  assent  to  the  truths  of  faith,  or 
again,  to  enable  him  rightly  to  apply  the  rules  of  Christian  prudence, 
whether  to  the  occasional  crises  or  to  the  ordinary  conduct  of  life. 
And,  consequently,  no  one  has  a  right  to  persuade  another  to  attri- 
bute to  his  own  sinfulness  or  want  of  purity  of  heart  the  absence  of 
some  more  special  enlightenment.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
especially  in  Fra  Girolamo's  later  years,  many  devout  and  God- 
fearing persons  were  sorely  perplexed  concerning  the  matters  now 
under  consideration  ;  and  it  would  seem  that  his  influence  practically 
tended  to  drive  such  perplexed  souls  to  take  refuge  in  a  highly 
illusory  and  dangerous  form  of  illuminism.  Savonarola  did  indeed 
openly  profess  not  to  claim  that  the  truth  of  his  predictions  should 
be  accepted  as  a  point  of  faith  ;  yet,  by  publicly  and  repeatedly 
declaring  that  God  would  severely  punish  the  incredulous,  he  im- 
posed a  burden  of  duty  where,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  no  obligation 
could  lie.  And  when  he  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  persistent,  or, 
as  he  would  say,  the  obstinate  and  pertinacious  rejection  of  his  revela- 
tions was  inconsistent  with  the  possession  of  the  "  habit  of  faith,"  and 
that  those  who  were  guilty  of  this  were  no  true  Christians,  he  appears 
to  us  to  have  so  evidently  transgressed  the  limits  of  his  right  to  judge, 
and  to  express  his  judgment,  of  others,  that  once  more  the  very 
vehemence  of  his  language  seems  to  recoil  upon  himself. 

But,  after  all,  it  was  not  the  subjective  test,  if  such  it  deserves  to  be 
called,  on  which  he  laid  the  chief  stress  in  his  repeated  demands 
upon  the  faith  of  the  Florentines,  and  his  warnings  that  they  would 
be  punished  for  their  unbelief.  His  principal  appeal  was  to  the  signs 
whereby  God  had  confirmed  the  truth  of  his  predictions.  And  these 
signs  were  of  two  kinds,  viz.  the  actual  and  exact  fulfilment  of  what 
had  been  foretold,  and  the  results  of  his  preaching  in  the  moral 
reform  of  the  city.  Now,  as  regards  the  fulfilment  of  predictions,  it 
surely  cannot  be  maintained  with  any  confidence  that  those  of  his  pre- 
dictions of  a  public  nature  which  were  fulfilled  transcended  the  limits 
of  human  foresight.  It  must  of  course  be  admitted  that  Savonarola 
was  distinguished  among  his  contemporaries  by  a  remarkable  clearness 
of  vision  into  the  future.     But  this  clearness  of  vision,  as  it  seems  to 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  69 

us,  may  with  the  highest  probability  be  adequately  accounted  for  by 
a  certain  natural  sagacity,  coupled  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  moral 
corruption  of  the  times,  and  that  kind  of  acquaintance  with  the  ways 
of  divine  Providence  which  he  had  gathered  from  deeply  pondering 
the  historical  records  and  prophetic  warnings  of  the  Bible,  and  which 
had  become  in  a  manner  instinctive  with  him.  Not  indeed  that 
every  man  of  noble  character  and  of  pure  heart  learns  to  read  the 
signs  of  the  times.  Yet  nobility  of  character,  and  a  spotless  purity  of 
life,  are  undoubtedly  predisposing  conditions  which,  when  united 
with  natural  sagacity,  render  possible  a  truer  forecast  of  the  future 
than  is  to  be  expected  from  those  who  are  blinded  by  passion,  and 
distracted  by  the  petty  interests  of  the  passing  moment. 

Then,  too,  a  certain  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  possibilities 
of  happy  conjecture,  and  also  for  the  influence  of  the  prophetic 
ideals,  if  we  may  so  style  them,  which  w^ere  current  in  his  time. 
Savonarola  lived  in  an  age  when  the  minds  of  many  earnest  men, 
and  women  too,  were  drawn  by  a  kind  of  irresistible  attraction  to 
venture  on  predictions  of  future  events.  We  may  well  believe  Fra 
Girolamo  when  he  assures  us  that  he  had  paid  but  scant  attention  to 
the  vaticinations  of  those  who  may  compendiously  be  styled  his 
fellow-prophets,  though  some  of  them  lived  two  centuries  or  more 
before  his  time.  Nevertheless,  the  general  drift  of  their  predictions 
was  common  property,  and  nothing  was  more  natural  than  that  such 
a  man  as  Savonarola  should  be  unconsciously  influenced  by  them.^ 
He  was  not  the  first  to  foretell  that  grievous  calamities  were  to  fall 
upon  the  Church,  nor  was  he  the  first  to  predict  that  salvation  should 
come  by  the  hand  of  a  temporal  prince,  and  that  this  prince  should 
be  not  the  Emperor  but  a  king  of  France.  The  difference  lay 
herein,  that  when  Savonarola  began  to  thunder  forth  his  warnings, 

1  On  the  subject  of  niediitval  prophecy  the  two  best  dissertations  known  to  us 
are  those  of  Tocco,  "II  Savonarola  e  la  Profezia,"  in  Vi/a  Italiana  nd  Kinascimcnio 
(pp.  352  sijq.),  and  of  Ruhr,  "Die  Prophetic  im  letzten  Jahilundert  vor  der 
Reformation,"  usw.,  in  the  Historisches  Jahrhuch,  xix.  pp.  29  sqq.,  547  sqq. 
Among  the  predecessors  of  Savonarola  Tocco  enumerates  the  Abbot  Gioachino 
(ti202),  Piero  Olivi  (ti29S),  Amaldo  da  Villanova,  Ubertino  da  Casale  (circ. 
1305),  Stoppa  de'  Bostichi,  Angelo  de  Monticelli,  Giovanni  di  Roquetaillade, 
S.  Brigit  of  Sweden,  S.  Catherine  of  Siena,  Tomassuccio  da  FoJigno,  Giovanni 
delle  Celle,  the  Abbot  Telesforo  (circ.  1386),  S.  Vincent  Ferrer,  and  several  others. 
Rohr  adds  some  German  names  to  the  list.  Speaking  generally,  they  all  agree  in 
predicting  terrible  chastisements.  Some  liold  that  the  end  o(  the  world  is  at 
hand.  Others,  like  Savonarola,  predict  a  great  religious  revival,  the  conveision 
of  the  Turks,  etc. 


70  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

the  prospects  of  a  French  invasion  were  conspicuously  imminent. 
His  prediction  that  the  French  king  would  indeed  come  was,  as 
every  one  knows,  fulfilled.  But  the  high  hopes  based  upon  the 
French  invasion  were  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment ;  and  the 
veracity  of  the  prophet  could  be  saved  only  by  the  explanation  that 
the  promises  of  a  reformation  to  be  brought  about  by  means  of 
Charles  VIII.  had  been  subject  to  conditions.  But  with  respect  to 
certain  other  predictions  which  have  been  related  in  the  foregoing 
chapter,  viz.  that  of  the  conversion  of  the  Turks,  and  of  the 
prosperity  of  Florence  and  the  extension  of  her  dominions, 
Savonarola  committed  himself  to  the  uncompromising  assertion  that 
they  were  not  conditional,  but  absolute  and  irrevocable ;  and  in  the 
concluding  paragraphs  of  the  Compendium  Revelationum  he  went  as 
near  as  was  possible  to  a  definite  statement  that  they  would  be 
fulfilled  within  ten  years. ^  Now,  the  only  conclusion  which,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  can  be  reasonably  drawn  from  the  complete  mis- 
carriage of  these  promises,  thus  absolutely  and  irrevocably  made,  is, 
that  those  predictions  which  were  fulfilled  were  after  all  nothing 
better  than  shrewd  conjectures,  put  forth  with  impassioned  con- 
viction and  most  courageous  boldness,  and,  as  we  are  willing  to 
believe,  in  all  good  faith,  but  conjectures  after  all. 

As  regards  the  moral  reformation  of  Florence,  we  would  say  (i) 
that  it  was  not  exclusively  the  result  of  Savonarola's  prophecies  as 
such,  but  principally  the  fruit  of  his  earnest  inculcation  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  of  Christian  morality,  and  his  severe 
condemnation  of  vice  ;  and  (2)  that  although  it  was  undoubtedly 
helped  forward  by  his  predictions,  this  of  itself  proves  nothing.  If 
the  predictions  had  not  produced  some  good  results,  they  could 
not  have  possessed  even  the  semblance  of  a  claim  to  be  regarded  as 
divinely  inspired.  Many  a  child  has  been  terrified  by  false  alarms 
into  saying  its  prayers.  But  this  does  not  prove  that  the  creations 
of  a  child's  imagination  have  a  real  and  independent  existence. 
Many  a  simple  soul  has  been  stirred  to  feelings  of  devotion,  and 
even  perchance  to  acts  of  very  real  and  solid  virtue,  by  some  tale  of 
legendary   hagiology.     But   this   does   not    dispense    M.    Duchesne 

^  On  3rd  May  149S,  he  assured  his  liearers  that  some  of  those  then  Hving 
should  see  the  conversion  of  the  Turks  ;  and  on  28th  May  he  told  them  (alluding 
to  Pisa)  that  they  should  have  everything  back,  and,  moreover,  that  their  dominions 
should  be  increased.  He  told  them,  too,  that  in  the  coming  plague  the  "Tcpidi" 
should  die  in  proportionately  greater  numbers  than  the  devout.  Was  this 
prediction  verified  ? 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  71 

and  the  Bollandists  from  the  necessary,  if  sometimes  ungracious,  task 
of  turning  the  search-liglit  of  historical  criticism  upon  traditions  of 
spurious  or  doubtful  origin. 

Moreover,  it  is  by  no  means  clear  thai  the  results  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  prophecies,  and  more  particularly  of  the  reiterated 
assertion  of  his  claims  to  be  regarded  as  an  inspired  prophet, 
deserve  to  be  called  purely  and  simply  good.  To  take  only  a 
simple  instance — was  it  a  good  result  that  in  later  days  the  people 
of  Florence  should  be  encouraged  to  set  at  naught  the  menaces  of 
the  reigning  Pope  even  though  that  Pope  was  Alexander  VI.,  and 
to  listen  rather  to  one  who  explicitly  declared  that  he  held  his 
commission  directly  from  God?  Was  it  not  one  result  of  the 
prophetic  claims  of  Savonarola  that  the  city  of  Florence  was 
brought  perilously  near  to  schismatical  disobedience?  'Ihis  is  a 
point  which  we  cannot  develop  here  without  unduly  anticipating  the 
course  of  the  subsequent  narrative.  But  the  mere  mention  of  the 
conflicts  which  occupy  so  large  a  portion  of  the  record  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  last  years,  and  which  are  so  intimately  bound  up  with 
the  question  of  his  alleged  divine  mission,  may  be  sufficient  as  a 
reminder  that  the  moral  reformation  which  he  undoubtedly  effected 
was  not  the  only  result  of  his  preaching, 

"  In  the  absence  of  convincing  proof,"  says  Gerson,  "  no  private 
revelations  are  to  be  accepted  as  indisputably  genuine  until  after  the 
death  of  the  person  who  professes  to  have  received  them  .  .  . 
[nor]  until  all  his  acts,  words,  and  writings,  to  the  end  of  his  life, 
have  been  first  examined."  And  the  reason  is,  that  "the  devil 
often  for  a  long  time  tells  the  truth  (inculcat  vera)  that  he  may  at 
last  draw  a  man  into  error  (persuadeat  falsa)."  ^  Of  course  we  do  not 
postulate,  in  Savonarola's  case,  any  special  diabolical  agency.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  niuch  which  is  by  mediceval  writers  ascribed  to 
the  direct  action  of  the  Devil  may  be  set  down  to  the  account  of 
natural  causes.  But  the  caution  that  alleged  revelations  are  to  be 
judged  not  merely  by  their  immediate  results,  but  by  their  remoter 
issues,  is  one  in  which  S.  Thomas  Aquinas  is  at  one  with  Gerson 
and  other  writers.^  Amort  lays  it  down  that :  "  Doubtful  revelations, 
if  they  bring  with  them  the  danger  of  .  .  .  causing  dissensions  in 
the  Church,  are  to  be  prohibited  by  public  authority."  And  still 
more   to   the    purpose   is    the  "rule"    ihat :    "Revelations,  on    the 

*  Aiuoil,  y.  64.  *  Ibid.,  p.  233. 


72  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

strength  of  which  it  is  pretended  that  the  recipient  of  them  is 
dispensed  from  the  observance  of  some  law,  natural  or  ecclesiastical," 
deserve  no  credence.^ 

How  far  these  last  rules  are  applicable  to  the  case  of  Savonarola 
is  a  question  which  must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events.  But  it  is  right  that  they  should  be  at  least  mentioned  in 
this  place. 

But  what  is  to  be  said  about  the  plea,  repeatedly  urged  by  Fra 
Girolamo,  that  all,  or  nearly  all,  good  men  recognised  his  prophetic 
mission,  while  those  who  called  it  in  question  were  men  of 
abandoned  life,  or  at  least  such  as  were  only  externally  religious  and 
devout  ?  -  Unfortunately,  we  can  only  reply  by  denying  the  alleged 
fact.  There  is  no  reason  whatever,  that  we  can  see,  for  calling  in 
question  the  high  character  of  some  of  those  who,  during  Fra 
Girolamo's  lifetime  and  since,  have  believed  him  to  be  deluded. 
Nor  can  we  admit  that  Savonarola  had  any  right  to  proclaim  that 
the  apparent  uprightness  of  some  of  his  adversaries  was  no  better 
than  a  cloak  for  hypocrisy  or  hidden  wickedness.  He  himself 
admitted  that  it  was  not  given  to  him  to  read  the  secrets  of  hearts. 
And  even  had  he  possessed  such  a  gift,  its  possession  would  not 
have  released  him  from  the  duty  of  observing  the  natural  law  which 
prescribes  respect  for  our  neighbour's  reputation.  The  bearing  of 
these  remarks,  as  well  as  of  others  which  we  have  had  occasion  to 
make  in  the  course  of  this  chapter,  will  appear  more  fully  in  the 
sequel. 

There  is,  however,  yet  another  consideration  which  claims  our 
attention  before  we  can,  for  the  present  at  least,  dismiss  the 
subject.  Among  the  reasons  which  render  the  prophecies  of  Fra 
Girolamo  at  least  open  to  suspicion  is  the  strange  flattery  of  the 
city  of  Florence  with  which  they  are  inseparably  bound  up.  It  is 
of  course  conceivable  that  God  should  have  chosen  Florence  as  the 
scene  of  special  manifestations  of  His  goodness  and  power,  and 
that  He  should  have  destined  the  city  to  be  the  centre  whence  the 
leaven  of  reformation  should  spread  throughout  Italy,  and  even 
throughout  the  world.  But  it  may  be  doubted  whether,  if  such  had 
been    His    design,    He   would    have    wished   this    design    to    be 

^  Amort,  pp.  270,  281. 

"  He  speaks  of  the  "Tepidi,  quos  saepe  redargue,  et  quihuscum  assiduus  mihi 
est  conflictus.  ,  .  .  Hi  sunt,  mihi  crede,  Phaiisaei  ;  qui  cum  Herodianis  con- 
silium inierunt  ut  nos  caperent  in  sermonc"  (Dyalogus,  book  v.). 


ON  THE  WATCH-TOWER  OF  ITALY  73 

communicated  in  set  terms  to  the  citizens,  who  were  perhaps 
already  somewhat  prone  to  a  certain  civic  pride  and  corporate  self- 
sufificiency.i  And  it  may  also  be  doubted  whether  the  Providence 
of  God  could  be  truly  described  as  so  solicitous  for  the  civic 
liberties  of  the  Florentines,  and  at  the  same  time  so  indignant  with  the 
citizens  of  Pisa  for  their  efforts  to  secure  independence  for  them- 
selves. And  whatever  may  be  thought  of  these  a  priori  probabilities, 
it  may  at  least  be  questioned  whether,  in  any  intelligible  sense,  the 
work  of  ecclesiastical  reform  can  be  said  to  have  actually  spread 
from  Florence. 

^  "  Great,"  says  Fra  Girolamo,  in  one  of  his  sermons  (S.  8  on  Amos,  9th  June 
1495)  "  's  the  blessing  of  creation.  Still  greater  is  the  favour  of  having  been  created 
in  the  image  of  God.  Greater  still  that  of  having  been  born  among  Christians. 
But :  Maggior  beneficio  ancora  h  che  tu  sia  nato  in  questa  grande  cipih,  et  non 
in  moiti  luoghi  del  christianismo  dove  si  vive  come  bestie.  Piu  grande  ancora  che 
dopo  molte  tenebre.  .  .  .  Dio  t'  habbia  illuminata  :  et  prima  t'  ha  illuminata 
delle  cose  interiori  .  .  .  et  poi  di  fuori.  Item  t'  ha  illuminata  supcrabundante- 
mente,  et  hatti  dato  cose  che  non  si  danno  a  molti,  cioe  ad  rivelarti  le  cose  future. 
Non  fecit  taliter  omni  nationi.  .  .  .  Grande  beneficio  e  stato  ancora  questo,  che 
havendo  voluto  Iddio  prenuntiare  queste  cose  ad  tucta  la  Italia  egli  habbi  electo  te 
nella  quale  s'habbino  ad  predire  queste  cose,  et  da  te  spendersi  il  lume  nelle 
altre." 


H 


CHAPTER  V 

SAVONAROLA    AND    LORENZO    De'    MEDICI 

'AVING  preached  during  the  Advent  of  1490  at  S.  Marco, 
.  in  the  following  Lent  Savonarola  occupied  the  pulpit  of  the 
Duomo  (commonly  called  in  contemporary  documents  S.  Maria 
Reparata,  or  S.  Reparata),^  and  his  sermons  began  to  produce  a 
marked  impression  in  the  city.  His  predictions  of  impending 
disaster,  and  his  fearless  denunciations  of  vice,  drew  upon  him  the 
attention  of  all  classes,  and  from  the  outset  gave  occasion  to  much 
division  of  opinion  and  sentiment.  He  himself,  in  a  letter  to  his 
faithful  friend  and  fellow-labourer,  Fra  Domenico  Buonvicino  da 
Pescia,  who  was  then  preaching  at  Pisa,  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  reveals  his  own  inmost  thoughts,  hopes,  and 
convictions  : — 

*"  Our  affairs  [he  writes]  go  on  prosperously.  For  God  works  wonder- 
fully, although  we  experience  much  opposition  from  the  great  men  of  the 
city,  as  I  will  more  fully  explain  to  you  on  your  return.  At  present  it  is 
not  expedient  to  write  about  such  matters.  Many  have  feared,  and  some 
still  fear,  that  I  may  be  treated  as  was  Fra  Bernardino.^  And  indeed  I 
have  been  in  some  danger  (res  nostra  non  fuit  sinepericulo  in  hac  parte)  but 
I  have  always  hoped  in  the  Lord,  knowing  that  the  heart  of  the  king  is 
in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  ;  He  will  turn  it  whithersoever  He  will.  I  trust 
in  Him  that  He  will  do  great  things  by  means  of  my  words  (per  os 
nostrum) ;  for  He  daily  consoles  me,  and  strengthens  my  timidity  by  the 
words  of  His  angels  (per  voces  spirituum  suorum),  who  often  say  to  me  : 
'  Fear  not,  speak  boldly  whatever  God  shall  inspire  you  to  say,  for  the 
Lord  is  with  you.  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  fight  against  you,  but  they 
shall  not  prevail.' ...     I  frequently  predict  the  renovation  of  the  Church, 

1  We  also  find  the  forms  S.  Liperata  and  S.  Liberata.  Liperata  is  obviously  a 
corruption  of  Reparata,  and  Liberata  an  erroneous  correction  of  the  barbarous 
Liperata. 

2  Fra  Bernardino  da  Feltre,  a  Franciscan  preacher  of  great  holiness  of  life, 
who  has  received  the  honour  of  canonisation,  had  been  expelled  horn  Florence  in 
1488  by  reason  of  the  vehemence  with  which  he  had  inveighed  against  usury 
(c/.  Pastor,  V.  109  s^(j.). 

74 


SAVONAROLA  AND  LORENZO   DE'  MEDICI  75 

and  the  coming  tribulations,  but  never  absolutely,  and  always  basin;,'  my 
predictions  on  some  passage  of  Holy  Scripture  (semjjer  cum  fundamento 
Scripturarum)  ;  so  that  no  one,  unless  he  be  perversely  disposed,  can 
find  fault."  1 

The  guarded  allusions,   in  this  letter,  to  some  opposition  and 
danger  which  the  preacher  has  recently  experienced,  are  explained 
by  an    incident  which    Savonarola's    biographers    have   erroneously 
placed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  149 1,  but  which  almost  certainly 
belongs  to  this  Lent.     He  received  a  visit  one  day  from  five  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Florence — Domenico  Bonsi,  Guidantonio  Vespucci, 
Paolantonio  Soderini,  Filippo  Valori,  and  Bernardo  Rucellai — all  of 
them  men  who  had  rendered  distinguished  services  to  the  State  in 
various  embassies,  but  whose  united  diplomacy  was  to  meet  with  a 
signal  check  when  brought  to   bear  on   the  intrepid  Friar.     They 
came  to  warn  him  that,  by  his  freedom  of  speech,  he  exposed  both 
himself  and   his   convent   to   serious   risk ;    but  when  they  found 
themselves   in    his   presence   their   courage  failed    them,   and   they 
faltered    in   the   delivery  of  their  message.     For  it   was,  in  fact,  a 
message   which    they   had   come   to   deliver,   as   the   Friar   himself 
roundly  told  them.     It  was  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  he  said,  who  had 
sent  them  ;  and  he  bade  them  admonish  him  to  do  penance  for  his 
sins,  for  that  God  was  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  would  not  spare 
the  princes  of  the  earth.     And  when  the  envoys  of  the  great  man 
reminded  him  that  he  might  perchance  be  sent  into  exile,  as  Fra 
Bernardino  da  Feltre  had  been,  he  replied :    "  I  care  nothing  for 
your  threats  of  exile,  because  this,  your  city,  is  but  a  tiny  patch  (come 
un  grano  di  lente)  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.     But,"  he  added, 
"  this  new  fashion  of  teaching  will  triumph,  and  the  old  will  collapse. 
And  although  I  am  a  stranger  in  the  city,  and  Lorenzo  the  first  man 
in  the  State,  yet  I  shall  stay  here,  and  it  is  he  who  must  go  hence." 
Then  he  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  condition  of  Florence,  and  of  all 
Italy,  in  terms  which  caused  his  hearers  to  marvel  at  his  knowledge 
of  political  affairs. 2     Moreover,  about  the  same  time  he  declared,  in 

'  Gher.irdi,  pp.  281-82. 

^  Cinozzi,  pp.  13,  14;  Burlamacchi,  p.  31  ;  Villari,  i.  139.  Cinozzi  and 
Burlaniacchi  say  nothing  of  the  threat  of  exile,  which  Villari  has  presumably 
drawn  from  the  J7/(Z  I.ati}ia,  or  from  the  Vtiliicra  Diligeiitis  of  Fra  Benedetto, 
neither  of  which  clociinicnls  has  hitherto  been  ]iulili.shed  in  full.  Such  a  threat, 
expressed  or  implied,  is  however  presupposed  by  Savonarola's  assertion  lliat  he 
should  stay  in  Florence,  and  that  Lorenzo  must  go  thence,  and  seems  to  be  alluded 
to  in  the  letter  to  Fra  Domenico  quoted  above. 


76  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

the  presence  of  many  witnesses,  that  Lorenzo,  the  Pope,  and 
the  King  of  Naples  would  all  soon  die.^  The  prediction  was  ful- 
filled, so  far  as  the  Pope  and  the  Magnifico  were  concerned,  in  the 
following  year,  1492.  Ferrante,  King  of  Naples,  died  in  January 
1494. 

This  incident  of  the  embassy  of  the  five  citizens  Savonarola 
himself  related  from  the  pulpit  five  years  afterwards,  two  of  the  five 
being  actually  present.-  Three  of  them,  in  fact,  became,  after  the 
death  of  Lorenzo,  firm  supporters  of  the  Friar. 

In  the  meanwhile  Lorenzo,  whether  because  he  dreaded  the 
consequences  of  any  extreme  measure,  or,  as  we  are  willing  to 
believe,  from  some  more  honourable  motive,  refrained  from  any 
attempt  to  carry  into  effect  the  threats  with  which  he  had  in  vain 
sought  to  terrify  him.^  Not  only  was  Fra  Girolamo  left  entirely 
unmolested,  but  he  was  invited  to  preach  in  the  Palazzo,  before  the 
Signory  and  the  other  magistrates  of  the  city,  on  the  Wednesday  in 
Easter  week.  He  told  his  hearers  plainly  that  he  did  not  feel 
altogether  at  his  ease  in  addressing  so  unwonted  an  audience. 
"  I  am  not  master  here,"  he  said,  "  as  in  the  church,  and  therefore 
I  must  behave  with  a  certain  politeness  (me  urbanius  habere),  like 
Christ  in  the  house  of  the  Pharisee."*  But  whatever  his  feelings 
of  embarrassment  may  have  been,  they  did  not  hinder  him  from 
expressing  himself  with  remarkable  freedom  concerning  the  duties 
of  those  who  were  entrusted  with  public  offices.  All  the  good  and 
all  the  evil  in  the  State,  he  said,  depended  on  its  chief  or  prince; 
"if  he  would  come  with  us,  he  might  render  the  city  holy."^  But 
some  men,  when  they  enjoy  power,  become  "incorrigible  tyrants," 

^  Villari,  loc.  cit. 

^  This  is  expressly  stated  by  Cinozzi  {loc.  cit,),  who  heard  the  sermon,  and 
saw  the  men  among  the  audience. 

^  Guicciardini  writes :  "  Non  piaceva  il  predicare  del  S.  a  Lorenzo ;  nondimeno, 
parte  perche  non  lo  toccava  nel  vivo,  parte  perche  d'avere  altra  volta  cacciato  da 
Firenze  Fra  Bernardino  .  .  .  aveva  ricevuto  carico  nel  popolo,  e  forse  avendo 
qualche  riverenza  a  Fra  lejonimo  .  .  .  non  gli  proibiva  il  predicare,"  etc.  {S/o?-ia 
Fioretiti7ia,  p.  123). 

*  From  the  rough  draft  of  the  sermon  jotted  down  by  Savonarola  himself, 
and  printed  by  Villari  (vol.  i.  Append,  p.  xxxiii.). 

*  The  allusion  is  to  Nathanael,  who,  though  no  fisherman,  accompanied  S. 
Peter  on  the  lake  of  Galilee  as  related  in  S.  John  xxi.  i  sqq.  This  passage  is  the 
Gospel  of  the  day  on  which  Fra  Girolamo  was  preaching  ;  and  the  application  is, 
that  the  secular  power  should  be  invited  to  co-operate  with  the  preachers  of  the 
Gospel. 


SAVONAROLA  AND  LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI  77 

guilty  of  all  mniiner  of  injustice  and  oppression.  On  reading  these 
words  it  is  easy  to  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  an  offensive  allusion 
to  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  was  intended  ;  but,  in  fact,  so  far  as  can  be 
judged  from  the  rough  draft  which  is  all  that  has  been  preserved  of 
this  sermon,  the  preacher's  condemnation  of  the  abuses  of  arbitrary 
despotism  was  (juite  general  in  its  form  ;  and  it  was  followed  by  an 
exhortation  to  those  whom  he  was  addressing  to  act  far  otherwise. 
Let  them  keep  steadily  in  view  not  their  own  private  interests  but 
the  public  good.  Let  them  set  Christ  before  their  eyes,  and  place 
their  own  hopes  in  the  eternal  happiness  of  heaven.  Thus,  and  thus 
alone,  can  they  make  the  people  happy. ^ 

Although,  however,  Fra  Girolamo's  sermon  in  the  Palazzo  was 
not,  in  our  opinion,  quite  so  calculated  to  give  personal  offence  to 
the  head  of  the  State  as  Villari  seems  to  think,  we  cannot  wonder 
that  Lorenzo  should  have  wished  to  raise  a  barrier  against  the 
growing  influence  of  the  Friar.  His  private  efforts  to  induce 
Savonarola  to  modify  the  character  of  his  sermons  having  failed,  he 
induced  Mariano  della  Barba  (daGennazzano)  to  undertake  the  task  of 
controverting  his  conclusions,  and  publicly  to  admonish  him  that  the 
prediction  of  future  events,  and  the  adoption  of  an  unusual  style  of 
preaching,  was  a  mark  of  presumption,  and  was  calculated  to  arouse 
dissension  among  the  people.-  Accordingly,  on  Ascension  Day 
149 1,  Fra  Mariano  openly  attacked  Savonarola  in  a  sermon,  preached 
at  San  Gallo,  on  the  text :  "  It  is  not  yours  to  know  the  times  and 
the  moments,"  etc.  Cinozzi,  who  was  present,  declares  that  the 
preacher's  manner  was  such  as  to  alienate  from  the  preacher  many 
of  his  friends  and  admirers,  and  among  them  Cinozzi  himself;  and 

1  Villari,  loc.  cit.  In  the  Gospel  (Joe.  cit.),  the  Apostolic  fishermen  are  bidden 
to  cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship,  and  this  after  day  has  dawned. 
The  preacher,  by  an  obvious  moral  application,  condemns  the  conduct  of  those 
who  "  cast  their  nets  by  night,  and  on  the  left  side,"  i.e.  who  seek  their  private 
interests  by  unjust  means ;  and  he  exhorts  his  hearers  to  cast  on  the  right  side, 
and  in  full  daylight,  i.e.  to  act  in  all  things  with  justice,  and  with  an  eye  to  the 
common  good.  Moreover,  the  common  good  of  the  people  is  to  be  understood 
in  a  Christian  sense. 

- "  Ordino  col  detto  Fra  Mariano  che  facessi  una  predica  nella  quale  si  contenessi 
che  il  dir  cose  future  e  predicar  fuor  del  consueto  era  cosa  presuntuosa,  e  non  era 
se  non  mettere  sedizione  ne'  popoli "  (Cinozzi,  p.  14).  Burlamacchi  reproduces 
Cinozzi's  words  so  precisely  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  source  from 
which  he  has  drawn.  It  is  this  which  makes  us  a  little  suspicious  as  to  the 
details  which  he  here  and  there  adds  to  Cinozzi's  simpler  narrative.  Moreover, 
even  where  his  statements  of  fact  are  admitted,  caution  is  needed  with  reference 
to  his  imputation  of  motives. 


78  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

that  by  this  one  sermon  he  may  be  said  to  have  lost  the  reputation 
which  he  had  built  up  in  the  course  of  many  years.^  Burlamacchi 
hereupon  informs  us  that  this  was  the  fulfilment  of  a  prophecy  which 
Savonarola  had  previously  made  to  Domenico  Benivieni.  Benivieni 
had  told  Fra  Girolamo  that  if  only  he  had  the  eloquence  of  Mariano 
he  would  be  an  unrivalled  preacher.  Savonarola  had  replied — 
according  to  Burlamacchi — in  words  which  echoed,  while  they 
reversed,  those  of  S.  John  the  Baptist  concerning  our  Lord  :  "  Me 
oportet  crescere,  ihiim  auton  tnimii — I  must  needs  wax  greater,  but 
he  must  grow  less."  For  the  honour  of  Fra  Girolamo  we  would 
willingly  believe  that  he  never  uttered  these  words,  or  that  what  he 
did  say  had  been  misunderstood  and  so  misreported.^ 

However  this  may  be,  Savonarola  deemed  it  his  duty  to  reply 
to  Mariano's  discourse,  which  he  did  by  delivering,  either  on  the 
following  Sunday,  or  on  the  festival  of  Pentecost,  a  powerful  sermon 
on  the  same  text.  What  was  the  nature  of  his  reply  we  are  not  told, 
but  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  it  was  substantially  identical 
with  what  he  wrote  on  the  subject  in  his  Co7npendium  Revelatiomim, 
with  which  the  reader  has  already  made  acquaintance.  One  passage 
Cinozzi  has  preserved  for  us,  which  it  may  be  worth  while  to  repro- 
duce here.  Addressing  himself  to  Fra  Mariano,  who,  however,  was 
not  present,  the  preacher  said  : — 

"  My  brother,  I  would  that  you  were  here  ;  but  I  trust  that  at  least  my 
words  will  be  reported  to  you.  Do  you  not  remember  that  not  many 
days  since  you  came  to  me  here  at  S.  Marco,  and  with  great  humility  and 


^  "  Nel  modo  del  suo  procedere  monstro  tanta  passione  che  etiam  quelli  che 
eron  suo  familiari  e  suo  difensori,  si  accorsono  e  conobbono  che  procedeva  da  gran 
passione.  E  io  mi  ricordo,  essendo  a  delta  piedica,  che  ero  uno  di  quelli  ciie  piu 
tosto  dependevo  dalla  parte  sua  che  dal  P.  f.  leronimo  ;  e  quella  fu  causa  insieme 
con  molti  altri  di  lassar  le  sue  predicazioni.  Fuvvi  a  delta  predica  Lorenzo  e  el 
conte  Giovanni  della  Mirandola,  che  anco  lui  allora  era  contra  P.  f.  leronimo, 
messer  Agnolo  da  Montepulciano  e  quasi  tutto  il  fiore  delli  uomini  da  bene ;  in 
modo  che  all'  uscir  della  predica  fu  fatta  discissione  inter  omnes.  Ma  certo  quella 
fu  quasi  causa  di  fargli  perdere  la  repulazione  che  avea  acquistata  in  parecchi  anni," 
etc.  (Cinozzi,  p.  15).  Yet,  in  the  years  1492-93-94,  Mariano  preached  on  three 
successive  Good  Fridays  at  Ferrara,  a  circumstance  which  makes  il  clear  that  his 
reputation  was  by  no  means  gone  {Diario  Ferrarese  in  Muralori,  Scriptores,  xxiv. 
288).     Later  still,  he  often  preached  in  Rome  before  the  Pope. 

^  Savonarola  had  said  to  Lorenzo's  deputies  that  the  new  style  of  preaching 
would  prosper,  and  that  the  old  would  decline  {vide  supra).  We  venture  to 
suggest  thai  Burlamacchi  has  taken  hold  of  these  words  and  given  them  an 
offensively  personal  turn. 


SAVONAROLA  AND  LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI  79 

meekness  gave  me  to  understand  that  my  preaching  gave  you  great 
pleasure,  and  appeared  to  you  calculated  to  produce  much  fruit,  and  that 
you  offered  me  your  services,  and  declared  that  you  would  be  always 
ready  to  help  me,  with  more  to  the  same  effect  ?  Who,  then,  has  now  put 
it  into  your  head  to  speak  as  you  do  ?  Why  have  you  so  suddenly 
changed  your  mind  ?"' 

Whereby,  adds  Cinozzi,  every  one  understood  that  Mariano  had 
so  acted  out  of  complaisance  to  others,  and  also  (though  this  does 
not  seem  to  follow)  because  he  found  that  his  own  following  grew 
daily  less.  Shortly  afterwards  Mariano  left  Florence  for  Rome, 
where  he  was  subsequently  elected  general  of  his  Order.  He  seems 
to  have  become  almost  as  great  a  favourite  with  Alexander  VL  as 
he  had  been  with  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  and  his  influence  was  openly 
used  in  opposition  to  Fra  Girolamo.  Before  his  departure,  how- 
ever, the  controversial  passage  of  arms,  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
was  followed  by  an  interchange  of  courtesies  between  the  rival 
preachers.  Mariano  invited  Savonarola  to  sing  the  High  Mass  on 
some  great  festival  at  S.  Gallo,  and  Savonarola  accepted  the 
invitation. 2 

It  is  not  easy  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  Fra  Mariano's  character 
and  motives.  That  he  was  a  worldly-minded  man,  and  a  com- 
plaisant courtier,  can  hardly  be  denied  ;  but  it  is  at  least  probable 
that,  while  he  admired  the  fervid  eloquence  and  courageous  zeal 
of  Fra  Girolamo,  he  sincerely  believed  that  his  vaticinations  were 
mischievous  in  their  effects,  or  at  least  dangerous  in  their  tendency. 
Burlamacchi,  after  his  wont,  regards  his  acts  of  courtesy  to 
Savonarola  as  due  to  mere  hypocrisy.  To  this  hostile  verdict  we 
cannot,  in  the  absence  of  better  evidence,  subscribe.  Mariano's 
character  will  not,  of  course,  for  a  moment  bear  comparison  with 
that  of  his  great  rival.  But  while  we  recognise  that  the  future 
General  of  the  Augustinians  was  no  hero,  and  that  he  had  many 
faults  and  failings,  we  venture  to  doubt  whether  he  was  really  no 
better — as  Burlamacchi  would  have  us  believe — than  an  odious 
hypocrite. 

But  to  return  to  the  relations  between  Savonarola  and  Lorenzo. 
In  the  course  of  this  same  year,  1491,  Fra  Girolamo  was,  by  an 
unanimous  election,  chosen  Prior  of  the  convent  of  S.  Marco.  The 
convent  had  been  founded  and  greatly  enriched  by  Cosimo  de'  Medici, 
and  it  was   indeed    one   of  the    most   striking  monuments  of  the 

*  Cinozzi,  p.  15.  *  Burlamacchi,  p.  34  ;  Villari,  i.  143. 


8o  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

princely  munificence  of  this  great  family.^  It  need  not,  then,  cause  any 
surprise  that  a  custom  should  have  arisen  whereby  each  newly 
elected  Prior  used,  after  his  installation,  to  visit  and  pay  his  respects 
to  the  head  of  the  founder's  house.  Burlamacchi,  indeed,  represents 
that  the  visit  was  made  to  Lorenzo  in  his  capacity  as  head  of  the 
State  (per  riconoscerlo  come  capo  della  Repubblica),  but  we  venture 
to  doubt  whether  this  statement  fairly  represents  the  real  origin  of 
the  usage.-  However  this  may  be,  it  was  natural  that  Lorenzo 
should  expect  from  Savonarola  this  customary  mark  of  recognition. 
But  whether  it  was  that  he  regarded  the  act  as  savouring  too  much 
of  an  acknowledgment  of  a  right  of  patronage,  or  whether  he  desired 
to  mark  his  disapproval  of  the  political  supremacy  which  the  family 
had  gradually  acquired,  Fra  Girolamo  altogether  declined  to  set 
foot  in  the  palace  of  the  Medici.  He  owed  his  election,  he  said, 
to  God  alone,  and  God  alone  should  have  his  acknowledgments. 
Lorenzo,  on  his  side,  grumbled  that  a  stranger  had  come  to  live 
in  his  house,  and  yet  would  not  pay  him  a  visit.^  Whether, 
perchance,  Fra  Girolamo  might  have  acted  more  prudently  had  he 
conformed  to  a  custom  which,  after  all,  need  not  necessarily  be 
regarded  as  an  abuse,  we  will  not  undertake  to  say,  but  he  is  at 
least  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  been,  on  this  occasion,  as  on 
so  many  others,  staunch  in  his  adherence  to  what  appeared  to  him 
to  be  the  best  course  of  action. 

It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Lorenzo  that  he 
showed  no  spiteful  resentment  against  the  new  Friar  in  consequence 
of  the  omission  of  this  ceremonial  visit.  More  than  once  he  visited 
the  convent,  and  walked  in  the  garden  with  the  friars,  doubtless 
with  the  intention  of  meeting  the  Prior.  But  he  seems  to  have 
refrained  from  asking  to  see  him  personally ;  and  Savonarola,  on 
his  side,  declined  to  leave  his  cell  to  welcome  the  distinguished 
visitor,  unless  the  latter  should  expressly  send  for  him.*      Never- 

*  S.  Marco  had  previously  been  a  monastery  of  Silvestrine  monks.  The 
Dominicans  of  the  stricter  observance  obtained  possession  of  the  house  and  church 
in  1435 ;  but  the  whole  fabric  of  the  convent  was  in  such  a  state  of  dilapidation 
that  Cosimo  determined  to  rebuild  it  entirely,  and  the  work  was  entrusted  to 
Michelozzo  Michelozzi.  The  splendid  library  of  S.  Marco  was  also  the  gift  of 
Cosimo.  The  walls  of  S.  Marco,  as  every  one  knows,  are  still  bright  with  the 
frescoes  »f  Fra  Angelico  (Marchese,  Sunto  Siorico,  pp.  44  st/q.). 

2  Burlamacchi,  p.  29. 

3  Burlamacchi,  loc.  cil. 

*  Burlamacchi,  p.  30.  "While  admiring  the  spirit  of  Savonarola,"  writes 
Father  O'Ncil,  O.l'.,  "  we  are  It-mpted  to  regret  that  he  did  not  meet  Lorenzo, 


SAVONAROLA  AND   LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI  8l 

theless,  Lorenzo  did  not  desist  from  his  hopes  of  winning  over  the 
inflexible  Prior.  He  sent  to  the  convent  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  as  an  alms,  but  Fra  Girolamo  transferred  it  at  once  to  the 
confraternity  of  the  "good  men  of  S.  Martin,"  to  be  distributed 
among  the  poor,  saying  that  silver  and  copper  money  was  enough 
for  the  needs  of  the  brethren,  and  that  they  had  no  need  of  gold.^ 

He  used,  adds  Burlamacchi,  to  say  in  the  pulpit  that  it  is  the  busi- 
ness of  a  watch-dog  to  bark  and  to  attack  robbers,  and  not  to  allow 
itself  to  be  silenced  by  the  bribe  of  a  bone  or  other  food.  Whether, 
in  using  these  words,  or  others  to  the  same  effect,  Savonarola 
intended  to  allude  to  Lorenzo's  alms  appears  to  us  to  be  very  doubtful. 
We  should  prefer  to  attribute  the  alms  themselves  to  the  generosity 
of  the  donor ;  and  to  suppose  that  the  sending  of  them  to  the  Buoni 
Uomini  di  S.  Martino  was  due  to  Fra  Girolamo's  love  of  religious 
poverty  and  his  charity  to  the  poor,  rather  than  to  any  desire  to 
mark  his  independence  of  Lorenzo.  It  seems  to  have  been  his 
usual  custom  to  decline  the  responsibility  of  distributing  the  alms 
which  he  collected  for  the  poor.  And  so  long  as  there  was  a  kind 
of  charity  organisation  society — of  a  thoroughly  Christian  character — 
in  active  operation  in  the  city,  it  was  surely  the  part  of  prudence  to 
help  its  members  to  carry  on  their  beneficent  work.  We  do  not  yield 
to  Burlamacchi  himself  in  our  admiration  of  Fra  Girolamo's  refusal  to 
accept  Lorenzo's  gold  for  the  use  of  the  convent;  not,  however,  because 
it  was  Lorenzo's,  but  because  "to  give  is  more  blessed  than  to  receive." 

Early  in  the  year  1492  Lorenzo  fell  seriously  ill  at  Careggi,  his 
villa,  some  two  miles  distant  from  Florence,  and  it  soon  became 
evident  that  his  end  was  drawing  near.  In  this  extremity  Lorenzo 
caused  Fra  Girolamo  to  be  sent  for  that  he  might  assist  him  in  his 
last  moments.  According  to  Cinozzi  and  Burlamacchi,  although 
Don  Guido  degli  Angioli,  his  chaplain,  and  Fra  Mariano  della 
Barba  were  both  at  hand,  Lorenzo  declared  that  he  would  have  no 
other  confessor  but  the  Prior  of  S.  Marco,  for  that  he  was  the  only 
true  "  religious  "  of  his  acquaintance.^     Burlamacchi  adds  that,  when 

Without  any  sacrifice  of  dignity  this  could  have  been  effected,  as  Lorenzo  had 
practically  'gone  half  way.'"  And  he  adds,  in  a  note  :  "  Perhaps  the  course  of 
events  might  have  been  changed  had  these  men  first  met  then,"  etc.  {/erome 
Savonarola,  p.  24). 

^  Burlamacchi,  loc.  cit. 

"  Cinozzi,  p.  16;  Burlamacchi,  p.  37.  "Hieronymum  vocari  jussit,  ▼irum 
scilicet  intrepidum,  et  quem  nee  blanditiis  nee  ullis  artibus  a  veritate  flecli  posse 
comperisset"  (Pico,  p.  24). 

P 


82  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

first  summoned,  Fra  Girolamo  demurred,  bidding  the  messenger  tell 
Lorenzo  that  he  was  not  a  man  suited  for  this  purpose  (dite  a 
Lorenzo,  ch'io  non  sono  il  suo  bisogno)  because  it  was  impossible 
that  they  should  agree,  and  that  therefore  it  was  not  expedient  that 
he  should  go.  On  receiving  this  message,  the  sick  man  bade  the 
messenger  return,  and  charged  him  to  tell  Fra  Girolamo  that  he  was 
ready  faithfully  to  carry  out  whatever  instructions  he  might  have  to 
give.^  Of  this  hesitation  Cinozzi,  an  earlier  witness,  says  nothing, 
and  we  take  leave  to  regard  this  part  of  the  story  as  apocryphal.  It 
is,  to  say  the  least,  hardly  creditable  to  the  memory  of  Savonarola, 
for  it  might  surely  be  expected  that  a  man  of  truly  apostolic  zeal 
would  hasten  without  a  moment's  delay  to  the  assistance  of  a  dying 
sinner,  whatever  his  worldly  condition  might  be.  What  passed 
between  these  two  great  men  at  this  their  only  interview  will  never 
be  certainly  known.  If  we  might  trust  the  narrative  of  Cinozzi  and 
Burlamacchi,  with  which  that  of  Pico  agrees  in  the  main,  Lorenzo 
proposed  to  make  his  confession,  but  Savonarola  declared  that  he 
must  first  remind  him  of  three  conditions  under  which  alone  he 
could  hope  for  pardon.  He  must  have  a  lively  faith  in  the  mercy 
of  God,  he  must  make  restitution  of  all  ill-gotten  goods,  and  he  must 
restore  their  liberties  to  the  people  of  Florence.  His  faith  in  God's 
mercy  Lorenzo  fervently  professed  ;  and  he  promised,  so  far  as  was 
possible,  full  restitution  wherever  it  was  due,  and  undertook  to  leave 
suitable  directions  to  his  heirs  to  do  in  this  behalf  whatever  he  might 
be  unable  personally  to  carry  out ;  but  on  hearing  the  third  demand 
he  made  no  answer,  and  Fra  Girolamo  departed  without  having 
received  his  confession. ^  But  notwithstanding  the  authority  of 
Savonarola's  early  biographers  we  venture  to  think  that  these  details 
are  intrinsically  all  but  incredible.  We  can  hardly  believe  that  Fra 
Girolamo  would  have  made  his  own  conception  of  political  duty  (on 
which  after  all  a  difference  of  opinion  was  possible)  a  test  of  the 
fitness  of  a  sinner  to  receive  absolution  at  the  hour  of  death.     And 


^  Burlamacchi,  loc.  cit. 

2  Cinozzi,  p.  i6.  Burlamacchi  (p.  38)  makes  Lorenzo  declare  that  three  crimes 
troubled  his  conscience  beyond  all  others,  viz.  the  sack  of  Volterra,  the  mis- 
appropriation of  the  funds  of  the  Monte  di  Pieta,  and  the  bloodshed  which  had 
followed  the  conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi.  He  is  careful,  however,  to  let  it  be 
understood  that  all  this  was  said  by  way  of  preliminary  to  the  sacramental 
confession.  Pico  (p.  24)  agrees  with  Cinozzi,  and  omits  the  details  given  by 
Burlamacchi. 


SAVONAROLA  AND  LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI  83 

we  are  still  more  unwilling  to  believe  him  to  have  been  so  forgetful 
of  his  duty  as  to  reveal  to  any  one  what  had  passed  on  such  an 
occasion.  For  although,  as  is  alleged,  no  kind  of  sacramental 
confession  was  even  begun,  a  priest,  under  such  circumstances, 
would  be  bound  by  a  strict  obligation,  under  the  natural  law,  to 
observe  the  seal  of  secrecy.  Nor  again  can  we  readily  believe  that 
Lorenzo  would  have  confided  to  his  friends,  as  Burlamacchi  suggests 
that  he  did,  the  details  of  the  interview.^  Moreover,  the  account 
of  the  matter  given  by  Politian,  who  was  actually  present  when 
Savonarola  entered  the  room,  is  quite  inconsistent  with  the  story  as 
told  by  Cinozzi,  Pico,  and  Burlamacchi.^  According  to  Politian, 
Fra  Girolamo  came,  not  to  hear  the  confession  of  Lorenzo,  but  to 
comfort  him  with  words  of  friendly  counsel.  He  exhorted  the  dying 
statesman  to  hold  firmly  to  his  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith,  to 
resolve  upon  a  good  life  for  the  future  if  he  should  recover,  and  to 
be  resigned  to  die  if  God  should  so  will.  To  these  admonitions 
Lorenzo  made  the  answers  that  were  to  be  expected  of  a  Christian 
at  the  point  of  death.  And  when  Savonarola  was  about  to  leave 
the  room,  the  dying  man  asked  him  for  a  parting  blessing,  whereupon 
Fra  Girolamo  recited  the  prayers  for  the  departing,  and  Lorenzo 
devoutly  joined  in  the  responses.^ 

For  our  part  we  prefer  to  accept  Politian's  version  of  the  facts 
rather  than  that  of  Cinozzi,  Pico,  and  Burlamacchi,  not  merely 
because   it   is  more  honourable  to   Lorenzo  de'  Medici,   but  also 

1  The  sole  authority  for  the  story,  as  given  by  Cinozzi,  is  Fra  Salvestro  Maruffi, 
though  he  thinks  that  he  heard  it  also  from  Fra  Girolamo  himself.  Salvestro  was 
notoriously  a  gossip,  and  it  is  not  safe  to  place  any  reliance  upon  his  reminiscences, 
especially  when  reported  at  second  hand.  Burlamacchi  asserts,  however,  that 
Domenico  Benivieni  used  to  relate  the  same  story  on  the  authority  of  certain 
intimate  friends  of  Lorenzo. 

^  Villari  is  at  pains  to  show  that  the  two  narratives  are  not  inconsistent,  and 
even  that  Politian's  account  implies  that  Savonarola  refused  to  absolve  Lorenzo. 
Unless  we  are  much  mistaken,  Politian's  letter  implies  rather  that  Fra  Girolamo 
did  not  come  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  Lorenzo's  confession,  or  at  least  was  not 
asked  to  do  so.  He  had,  in  fact,  already  received  the  last  sacraments  (</.  Villari, 
i.  iSSs^g.). 

^  The  above  seems  to  us  to  be  a  fair  interpretation  of  Politian's  words  :  "  Abierat 
vix  dum  Picus,  cum  Ferrarienis  Hieronymus  .  .  .  cubiculum  ingreditur ;  hortatut 
utfidem  teneat  .  .  .  ut  quam  eiiiendatissime  posthac  vivere  dcsiinet  .  .  .  ut  mortem 
denique,  si  necesse  sit,  aequo  animo  toleret.  .  .  .  Recedebat  homo  jam  cum 
Laurentius :  Heus,  inquit,  benedictionem.  Pater,  priusquam  a  nobis  proficisceris. 
Simul  demisso  capite  vultuque  .  .  .  subinde  aJ  vfrha  illius  et  prices  rite  ac 
memoriter  responsitahat"  (Politian  to  Jacopo  "  the  Antiquary"  ;  Villari,  i.  184). 


84  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

because  it  is  more  honourable  to  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola 
himself.^  Moreover,  it  agrees  better  with  the  unquestioned  fact 
that  L-orenzo  had  already  received  the  last  rites  of  the  Church, 
and  this  with  an  edifying  appearance  of  humility  and  devotion.^ 
It  is  of  course  quite  possible  that  we  are  mistaken  in  our  opinion  ; 
but  we  must  be  content  to  refer  those  of  our  readers  who  may 
wish  to  peruse  a  highly  imaginative  development  of  the  other 
story  to  the  pages  of  Villari.  We  may  add  that  Dr  Creighton, 
in  an  Appendix  to  the  third  volume  of  his  History  of  the  Papacy^ 
examines  the  question  in  detail,  and  arrives  at  the  same  conclu- 
sion with  ourselves,  and  on  precisely  similar  grounds.^  So  too 
does  Mr  Armstrong,  who  very  pertinently  remarks  that  "  the 
demand  for  the  restoration  of  Florentine  liberty,  a  very  natural 
idea  at  the  date  of  Cinozzi's  epistle,  is  surely  an  anachronism  at 
the  date  of  Lorenzo's  death.  What  was  the  liberty  which  Lorenzo 
should  restore  ?  Was  it  that  which  Florence  enjoyed  under  his 
father  and  grandfather,  or  under  the  Albizzi,  or  the  Ciompi,  or 
the  Parte  Guelfa,  or  the  Duke  of  Athens  ?  "* 

*  "  Tel  est  le  trfes-simple  et  tres-vraisemblable  recit  que  Politien  fait  d'une 
entrevue  egalement  honorable  pour  les  deux  illustres  personnages.  Ce  qui 
donne  une  autorite  considerable  a  sa  parole  c'est  qu'  il  avail  dte  temoin  de  ce 
qu'  il  racconte,  et  qu'  il  ecrit  pour  un  ami,  non  pour  la  posterit(^"  (Perrens,  p.  65). 
Villari  remarks  that  Politian  would  probably  have  left  the  room  during  the 
interview,  and  also  that  the  correspondence  of  public  men  in  those  days  was 
intended  for  other  eyes  besides  those  of  the  persons  to  whom  their  letters  were, 
in  the  first  instance,  addressed.  But  Politian  distinctly  affirms  that  many  friends 
were  present,  among  whom  ht  may  himself  certainly  be  numbered,  when  Savonarola 
recited  the  prayers  for  the  dying  at  Lorenzo's  btdside.  It  is  this  closing  scene 
which  brings  into  the  clearest  light  the  inconsistency  of  the  two  accounts. 

«  Villari,  i.  158  sqq. 

*  Creighton,  iii.  296  sqq. 

*  Armstrong  in  E.H,R.^  iv.  449. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI — SAVONAROLA  AT  BOLOGNA 
— THE  SEPARATION  OF  S.  MARCO  FROM  THE  LOMBARD  CON- 
GREGATION 

LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI  died,  as  has  been  said,  on  gth  April 
1492.  He  was  succeeded,  so  far  as  it  is  right  to  speak  of 
succession  in  the  case  of  so  indefinable  a  kind  of  power  as  that 
which  Lorenzo  had  enjoyed,  by  his  son  Piero.  Piero  seems  to  have 
possessed  few  of  the  quahties  which  made  Lorenzo,  according  to 
the  measure  of  the  times,  a  great  statesman ;  he  certainly  inherited 
but  a  slender  share  of  his  father's  good-fortune.  Yet  it  is  possible 
that  to  Savonarola  the  character  of  this  gay  and  gallant  youth, 
fonder  of  handball  and  football,  of  races  and  tournaments,  than  of 
diplomacy,  was  less  abhorrent  than  that  of  his  shrewd  and  cal- 
culating father ;  and  even  that  his  example,  bad  as  it  was  in  point 
of  morality,  was  not  so  actively  mischievous  as  that  of  Lorenzo. 
The  great  muscular  strength  of  Piero  helped  to  make  him  passion- 
ately devoted  to  all  manner  of  active  exercises,  and  his  habits  of 
activity  may  perhaps  have  helped  to  save  him  in  the  earlier  days 
of  his  youth  from  some  of  the  worst  of  those  excesses  to  which 
Lorenzo  was  addicted.  And  in  the  case  of  a  young  prodigal  there 
is  always  more  hope  of  a  change  for  the  better  than  in  that  of  one 
who  has  grown  old  in  sinful  habits. 

Whatever  the  reason  may  have  been,  and  possibly  it  may  have 
been  after  all  a  reason  of  interest  and  policy,  we  shall  find,  in  Fra 
Girolamo's  relations  with  Piero,  during  the  brief  days  of  his  power, 
no  trace  of  that  almost  fierce  spirit  of  independence  which  marks 
his  attitude  to  Lorenzo  as  this  has  been  depicted  by  Burlamacchi. 
But  possibly  again,  as  we  have  already  suggested,  Savonarola's 
relations  with  Lorenzo  have  themselves  been  in  some  degree  mis- 
construed. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  April,  which  was  Good  Friday,  about 


86  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

a  fortnight  after  Lorenzo's  death,  Fra  Girolamo,  who  in  that  year 
was  preaching  the  Lent  in  S.  Lorenzo,  had  one  of  his  more  remark- 
able visions,  which  he  thus  relates  himself  in  his  Compendium 
Revelationum  •?■ — 

*'  I  saw  [he  says]  two  crosses,  whereof  the  one,  which  rose  from  the 
midst  of  the  city  of  Rome,  and  reached  even  to  the  sky,  was  black,  and 
it  bore  the  inscription,  CRVX  IRAE  DEI  (the  cross  of  God's  anger). 
Immediately  on  its  appearance  I  saw  the  sky  dark  with  scudding  clouds, 
and  a  tempest  of  wind,  lightning,  thunderbolts,  hail,  fire,  and  hurtling 
swords  arose,  and  an  immense  multitude  of  men  were  slain,  so  that 
only  a  remnant  was  left.  Thereafter  I  saw  the  sky  grow  calm  and  clear, 
and  another  cross  rose  up  from  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  not  less  lofty 
than  the  first,  but  of  a  splendour  so  brilliant  that  it  illuminated  all  the 
world,  causing  fresh  flowers  to  spring  on  every  side  and  joy  to  abound, 
and  it  bore  the  legend,  CRVX  MISERICORD lAE  DEI  (the  cross  of 
God's  mercy).  And  forthwith  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  flocked  together 
to  adore  and  embrace  it."* 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that,  so  far  as  this  vision  was  con- 
ceived of  by  Savonarola,  as  prophetic  of  some  immediately  future 
time,  it  has  not  in  any  intelligible  sense  been  fulfilled.  But  there  is 
no  need  to  repeat,  with  reference  to  this  or  other  individual  instances, 
what  has  already  been  said  of  his  visions,  revelations,  and  predic- 
tions in  view  of  their  general  character. 

As  the  apparition  of  the  two  crosses  came  to  him  at  the  close 
of  Lent,  so  also  the  close  of  the  following  Advent  was  marked  by 
another  divine  manifestation  (as  he  deemed  it),  which,  as  Villari 
reminds  us,  has  formed  the  subject  of  a  multitude  of  medals,  and 
has  supplied  the  device  which  more  than  any  other  has  been  taken 
as  summarising  the  prophetic  preaching  of  Fra  Girolamo. 

This  second  vision,  it  may  be  noted,  followed  the  death  of 
Innocent  VIII.,  and  the  election  of  Alexander  VI.,  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  previous  July.  Whatever  hopes  may  have  been 
aroused  by  the  vigorous  administration  of  the  first  days  of 
Alexander's  pontificate  had  been  speedily  dispelled.     For  it  soon 

1  The  church  of  San  Lorenzo  was  under  the  immediate  patronage  of  the 
Medici,  who,  as  is  well  known,  chose  it  as  their  place  of  sepulture.  It  is  hardly 
credible  that,  if  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  had  really  entertained  any  serious  fears  of  the 
effects  of  Fra  Girolamo's  sermons,  Fra  Girolamo  would  have  been  selected  to  preach 
the  Lent  in  that  church.  The  Lenten  sermons  of  1492  were  the  first  of  a  series, 
continued  in  the  Lent  and  summer  months  of  1494,  on  tlie  Book  of  Genesis. 

'^  CoDipenuiiim  Kevelationiim^  pp.  244-45. 


SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI  87 

became  only  too  clear  that  the  energy  which  stood  in  so  marked 
a  contrast  with  the  weakness  of  Innocent  VIII.  would,  for  the 
most  part,  only  subserve  a  policy  more  flagrantly  and  openly 
selfish  than  that  of  his  predecessor;  and  that  Pontiffs  who  had 
extended  an  inexcusable  toleration  to  vice  had  been  succeeded  by 
one  who  was  himself  shamelessly  vicious. 

"  In  the  year  1492  [Savonarola  writes]  I  saw,  on  the  night  preceding 
the  last  of  my  Advent  sermons  in  the  church  of  S.  Reparata  [z'.e.  the 
Duomo],  a  hand  in  the  heavens  grasping  a  sword  whereon  was  inscribed, 
GLADIVS  DOMINI  SUPER  TERRAM  CITO  ET  VELOCITER 
(the  Sword  of  the  Lord  upon  the  earth  soon  and  speedily) ;  while  on 
the  hand  was  written,  VERA  ET  IVSTA  SVNT  IVDICIA  DOMINI 
(the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  just).  But  the  arm  to  which 
the  hand  belonged  seemed  to  come  forth  from  three  faces  [symbolical 
of  the  Holy  Trinity],  whereof  the  first  said,  'The  wickedness  of  my 
sanctuary  cries  to  me  from  the  earth '  ;  and  the  second  answered, 
'Therefore  will  I  visit  their  iniquities  with  a  rod,  and  their  sins  with 
stripes';  and  the  third  exclaimed,  '  My  mercy  I  will  not  remove  from 
him,  nor  by  my  truth  will  I  hurt  him,  and  I  will  have  mercy  on  the 
poor  and  the  needy.'" 

After  a  further  colloquy  among  the  voices,  followed  by  a  terrible 
cry,  which  seemed  to  be  uttered  by  the  three  together,  and  which 
threatened  awful  vengeance  unless  men  would  repent  in  time,  he  saw 
a  vision  of  angels,  who  went  through  the  world  offering  to  men  white 
garments  and  red  crosses,  which  some  accepted  and  others  spurned, 
while  some  again  not  only  spurned  them  but  persuaded  others  to 
do  the  like.  These,  he  explains,  are  "the  tepid,"  men  puffed  up 
with  pride,  who  deride  the  boon  which  is  offered  them,  and  hinder 
others  from  accepting  it.  It  is  not  necessary  to  particularise  the 
details  which  follow.  Those  who  have  clad  themselves  in  the  white 
robes,  and  who  hold  the  red  crosses,  become  the  recipients  of  that 
divine  mercy  which,  during  and  after  the  storm  of  tribulation,  is  to 
be  extended  to  the  faithful  remnant  of  a  corrupt  people. ^  The 
practical  lesson  of  the  vision  for  Fra  Girolamo  himself,  as  com- 
municated to  him  by  the  supposed  divine  voice,  was  that  he  should 
earnestly  pray  God  to  inspire  men  with  His  fear  (ut  suum  timorem 
in  terram  mitteret),  and  to  give  to  His  Church  good  pastors  and 
preachers  who  would  feed  their  flocks  and  not  themselves. 

^  White  robes  and  red  crosses  were  to  be,  hereafter,  the  distinguishing  marks 
of  the  followers  of  Fra  Girolamo  in  their  public  processions  and  similar  functions, 
of  which  something  has,  by  anticipation,  already  been  said. 


88  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

In  the  following  year  (1493)  ^^^  Girolamo  preached  the  Lent 
not  at  Florence  but  at  Bologna.  To  judge  from  a  letter  written 
by  him  at  the  time  to  his  brethren  at  S.  Marco,  who  were  distressed 
at  the  long  absence  of  their  Prior,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
altogether  satisfied  with  his  success  there ;  and  Burlamacchi  relates 
that  his  sermons  were  at  first  not  well  attended,  and  that  he  was 
esteemed  "a  simple  man,  good  enough  for  women." ^  For  one 
woman  at  least  he  showed  himself  a  match.  The  wife  of  Giovanni 
Bentivoglio,  the  despotic  ruler  of  the  city,  attended  the  lenten 
course,  but  had  the  bad  taste  habitually  to  arrive  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sermon.  At  first  the  preacher  contented  himself 
with  interrupting  his  discourse  until  the  great  lady  had  taken  her 
seat,  in  the  hopes  that  the  marked  pause  would  be  sufficient  to 
make  her  ashamed  of  her  bad  manners.  Seeing,  however,  that  this 
had  no  effect,  he  admonished  the  ladies  in  general  terms  to  arrive 
punctually,  so  as  not  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  audience.  But 
again  to  no  purpose.  The  wife  of  so  distinguished  a  man,  and  so 
powerful  a  ruffian,  as  the  despot  of  Bologna,  was  not  disposed  to 
take  to  herself  any  such  general  admonition.  He  therefore  one 
day  addressed  her  individually  from  the  pulpit,  reminding  her  that 
she  would  please  God  better,  and  himself  also,  if  she  would  be  good 
enough  to  come  in  time.  The  only  result  was  that  she  persevered 
in  her  obstinacy,  and  at  last  one  day,  as  she  swept  into  the  church 
with  her  retinue,  he  cried  aloud  :  "  See  how  the  devil  comes  to 
disturb  the  word  of  God  ! "  Whereupon  she  despatched  two  of  her 
attendants  with  orders  to  slay  him  there  and  then  in  the  pulpit. 
But  their  courage  failed  them ;  and,  when  a  little  later,  she  sent  two 
others  on  a  like  errand  to  the  convent  of  S.  Domenico,  Savonarola 
received  them  with  such  gentle  dignity  that  they  could  only  stammer 
out  that  their  mistress  had  sent  them  to  assure  him  of  her  willingness 
to  serve  him  if  ever  he  should  need  her  assistance. 


^  The  letter  above  referred  to  is  given  in  full  by  Quetif,  ii.  99  s^q.  It  is  full 
of  beautiful  and  valuable  spiritual  counsels,  fervent  exhortations  to  patience,  perse- 
verance in  prayer,  the  avoidance  of  idleness,  of  dissensions,  and  of  "  tepidity." 
The  brethren  are  exhorted  not  to  oppose  the  work  which  he  has  in  hand,  of  which 
he  has  spoken  freely  to  them,  but  can  speak  only  in  a  guarded  manner  where  he 
now  is.  His  earnest  desire  to  be  once  more  among  them  is  expressed  with  great 
tenderness  :  "  lo  mi  ricordo  sempre  della  vostra  dolce  charita,  et  spesso  ne 
ragiono  con  Fra  Basilio  diletlo  niio  figliuolo  et  unamine  vostro  fratello.  .  .  .  Stiamo 
molto  solitarii  come  due  tortorine,  che  aspeltano  die  torni  la  primavera,  per  poler 
tornare  nei  luoghi  caldi,"  etc.  (pp.  103-4). 


SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI  89 

Such  is  the  tale  as  told  by  Biirlamacchi,  and  in  the  Vi^a  Latino} 
If  we  might  hazard  a  conjecture  it  would  be  (i)  that  the  somewhat 
intemperate  words  of  the  preacher  have  been  distorted  and  ex- 
aggerated; and  (2)  that  it  was  Madonna  Bcntivoglio  herself  who 
was  at  last  overcome  by  the  courageous  firmness  of  the  preacher ; 
and  that  the  message  which  her  attendants  delivered  at  the  convent 
of  S.  Domenico  was  the  message  which  they  had  been  bidden  to 
carry. 

Burlamacchi  adds,  however,  that  in  his  concluding  sermon,  Fra 
Girolamo  publicly  announced  that  he  would  set  out  on  foot  that 
afternoon  for  Florence,  and  would  pass  the  night  at  Pianoro ;  that 
if  any  one  had  anything  to  say  to  him,  they  would  do  well  to  come 
before  his  departure;  that,  nevertheless,  he  should  die,  not  at 
Bologna,  but  elsewhere.^  It  must  be  admitted  that  these  words,  if 
only  they  have  been  correctly  reported,  contain  an  unmistakable 
allusion  to  some  attempt,  actual  or  threatened,  upon  his  life.^ 

It  was  in  this  same  year,  1493,  that  Fra  Girolamo  successfully 
carried  out  a  project  which  lay  very  near  his  heart,  which  was  in- 
tended to  serve  as  the  first  step  in  a  large  and  comprehensive 
plan  of  reform,  but  which,  unfortunately,  involved  him,  within  a 
comparatively  short  interval  of  time,  in  very  serious  difficulties. 
Savonarola,  as  has  been  seen,  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction 
that  if  the  Church  was  indeed  to  be  renovated,  the  work  of  spiritual 
renewal  must  begin  with  the  clergy,  and  in  particular  with  the 
religious  orders.  Now,  so  long  as  he  was  merely  Prior  of  S.  Marco, 
it  was  not  in  his  power  to  take  this  work  in  hand,  even  as  it 
concerned  his  own  subjects,  with  the  freedom  and  vigour  which 
seemed  to  him  to  be  necessary  to  ensure  permanent  success.  The 
convent  of  S.    Marco,   with  certain  other   houses  of  the  Order  of 

^  Burlamacchi,  pp.  35,  36;  Villari,  i.  lyo  sqq. 

^  Burlamacchi,  /oc.  cit.  It  is  curious  to  find  in  the  Annaks  Bononienses  of 
Fra  II.  Burselli  (Muratori,  Scripiores,  xxiii.  91 1)  the  record  of  amurder  perpetrated, 
presumably  at  the  instance  of  Bentivojjlio,  by  four  men  in  masks,  on  the  first  day 
of  this  very  Lent. 

2  In  the  letter  above  referred  to,  Savonarola  bids  his  correspondents  pray  tl.ai 
he  may  have  light  to  know  whether,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  lenten  sermons, 
he  ought  to  proceed  to  Venice  to  the  chapter  of  the  Order,  which  was  to  be  held 
there.  A  letter  written  from  Venice  to  Fra  Battista  da  Firenze,  vicar  or  sub-prior 
of  S.  Marco,  and  published  by  Cappelli  (n.  i),  is,  we  think,  to  be  referred  to  this 
time,  however  the  date  1492  (for  which  we  would  read  1493)  is  to  be  explained. 
The  chronological  question  is  discussed  by  Villari  (i.  167  sqq.),  who  arrives  at  a 
different  conclusion.     The  point  is  of  no  serious  importance. 


90 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 


Friars  Preachers,  of  the  stricter  observance,  in  Tuscany,  was  subject 
to  the  Vicar  of  Lombardy  ;  ^  but  if  only  a  separation  could  be  effected, 
it  might  be  possible  to  improve  the  state  of  religious  discipline  in 
these  Tuscan  houses,  or  of  so  many  of  them  as  might  wish  to 
associate  themselves  with  S.  Marco.  And,  indeed,  it  is  evident 
that  so  long  as  Fra  Girolamo  was  liable,  at  any  moment,  to  be  sent 
by  his  superiors  to  reside  at  Venice  or  Bologna  or  elsewhere,  he 
could  not  feel  any  confidence  that  his  term  of  government  at  S. 
Marco  would  be  sufficiently  prolonged  to  enable  him  to  carry  out 
any  durable  scheme  of  internal  reformation. 

At  the  same  time,  we  must  express  our  dissent  from  a  twofold 
conjecture  with  reference  to  this  matter  which  has  been  somewhat 
incautiously  put  forth  by  Villari.  He  assumes,  without  proof,  that 
Savonarola's  mission  to  Bologna  was  due  to  the  machinations  of 
Piero  de'  Medici,  and  also  that  it  was  this  mission  which  suggested 
to  him  the  project  of  separation.  The  only  ground,  so  far  as  we 
can  gather  from  the  extant  evidence,  for  believing  that  Piero  was 
the  moving  cause  of  the  Bolognese  mission  is,  that  he  is  supposed 
to  have  been  desirous  that  Fra  Mariano  should  again  preach  the 
Lent  at  Florence  in  1493.-  But  this  latter  supposition  seems  to  be 
as  ill-grounded  as  the  conclusion  which  Villari  has  ventured  to  draw 
from  it.  The  facts,  as  revealed  by  a  correspondence  published  by 
Cappelli,  are  briefly  these  :  In  a  letter,  dated  14th  January  1493, 
Ercole  d'Este  informs  Manfredi,  his  envoy  at  F'lorence,  that  he 
has  written  to  the  Pope,  begging  him  to  command  Mariano  to 
preach  the  Lent  at  Ferrara,  but  that  Mariano  has  excused  himself 
on  the  ground  that  Piero  de'  Medici  already  held  his  promise 
that  he  would  preach  at  Florence.^  D'Este  accordingly  instructs 
Manfredi  to  approach  Piero  on  the  subject,  and  it  transjjires  that 
Piero  is  quite  willing  to  oblige  the  Duke;^  being,  in  all  probability, 
profoundly  indifferent  whether  Mariano  preached  at  Florence  or 
elsewhere.     Accordingly,  della  Barba  is  driven  to  fmd  some  other 

1  Or,  more  strictly  speaking,  of  "  the  Congregation  of  LomLardy,"  the  meaning 
of  which  appellation  will  presently  appear. 

'■i  "  Sembra  che  Piero  de'  Medici  .  .  .  annoiatosi  di  questo  predicatore  troppo 
popolare  .  .  .  riuscisse  ...  a  farlo  allontanar  da  Firenze,  dove  avea  adcsso 
richiamato  il  Gennazzano  a  predicare"  (Villari,  i.  169).  The  writer  adds  in  a 
note  :  "  Cio  risulta  dai  documenti  che  publico  il  Cappelli "  (pp.  28-30). 

2  Cappelli,  n.  7. 

*  D'Este  to  Manfredi,  29th  January  ;  d'Esle  to  Mariano,  same  dale  (Cappelli, 

nn.  8,  9). 


SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI  91 

excuse  for  holding  fast  to  his  Florentine  pulpit.  Manfrcdi,  the 
Duke's  ambassador,  is  fairly  annoyed.  After  so  many  negotiations 
("tante  et  gagliardc  scaramuzze"  in  his  expressive  but  untranslatable 
phrase)  he  can  get  nothing  out  of  Master  Mariano  except  that  it  is 
impossible  for  him  to  go  to  Ferrara.^  Mariano,  on  his  part,  cannot ' 
understand  the  Duke's  displeasure,  "essendo  necessitato  per  sue 
facende  ct  interesso  proprio."  -  "  His  own  affairs,"  then,  "  and  his 
own  interests,"  and  not  his  promise  to  Piero  were,  after  all,  the 
reason  why  he  could  not,  or  would  not,  comply  with  the  request  of 
the  Duke.^  There  is,  in  fact,  not  a  scrap  of  evidence  to  show  that 
Piero  de'  Medici  was  at  this  time  actively  hostile  to  Savonarola. 
On  the  contrary,  the  documents  which  Villari  himself  has  published 
show,  as  will  presently  appear,  that  he  gave  his  support,  doubtless 
from  no  very  exalted  motive,  to  Fra  Girolamo's  efforts  to  obtain 
the  separation  of  S.  Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congregation. 

Nor  again  can  it  be  maintained  that  the  order  to  preach  the  Lent 
at  Bologna  was  the  occasion  of  these  efforts.  We  have  the  authority, 
not  merely  of  Burlamacchi,  but  of  Savonarola  himself,  for  the  state- 
ment that,  during  a  period  of  six  or  seven  months,  prayers  had  been 
daily  offered  by  the  community  of  S.  Marco  for  the  success  of  the 
negotiations.*  And  this  would  almost  certainly  carry  us  back  to 
an  earlier  date  than  the  communication  of  the  command  to  preach 
at  Bologna.  Moreover,  as  appears  from  Fra  Girolamo's  account  of 
the  matter,  the  project  had  been  entertained  long  before  these 
special  public  prayers  had  been  undertaken  by  the  community.^ 

But  to  return  to  the  negotiations  themselves.  That  the  project 
was  not  of  the  nature  of  a  mere  innovation,  and  that  it  had  the 
cordial  support  of  Fra  Girolamo's  brethren,  and  was  not,  as  his 
enemies  afterwards  pretended,  a  crafty  device  of  personal  ambition, 
is  made  sufficiently  clear  by  a  formal  memorial  which  was  drawn  up, 
on  25th  May  1493,  for  presentation  to  the  Pope.  This  document 
cannot  indeed  have  been  the  first  petition  on  the  subject,  for  it  is 

'  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  3rd  February  (Cappelli,  n.  il). 

2  Same  to  same,  I4lh  February  (Cappelli,  n,  12). 

»  Cf.  Cosci,  pp.  288-89. 

*  "  Impcroche  in  sei  mesi  cinque  volte  il  di  i  Frati  tutti  si  ragunavano  all' 
oratione  uniti  insieme,"  etc.  (Hurlamacchi,  p.  55).  Lest  it  should  be  thought 
that  Burlamacchi  has  here  exaggerated  the  facts,  Savonarola  himself  speaks  of 
these  prayers  as  having  been  made  by  the  community  six  or  seven  times  daily  for 
the  space  of  seven  months  (.Savonarola  to  an  Abbess  at  Ferrara,  loth  September 
1493 ;  Villari,  i.  Ap[)end.  p.  Iv. ). 

"  Ibid.,  p.  liv. 


9a  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

dated  three  days  later  than  the  very  Brief  which  it  was  designed  to 
obtain.  But  the  loss  of  the  earlier  petition,  which  seems  to  be  no 
longer  extant,  is  of  the  less  consequence  because  the  later  document 
contains  a  very  full  statement  of  the  case  for  separation.  It  has 
seemed  to  us  to  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  deserve  reproduction 
here  in  a  compendious  summary.  After  the  date,  and  a  list  of  the 
names  of  the  brethren  present  on  the  occasion,  who  are  stated  to 
have  been  duly  summoned  to  the  chapter-house  at  the  sound  of  the 
bell,  and  by  command  of  the  Prior,  the  memorial  proceeds : — 

The-above  named  brethren — who  declare  themselves  to  be  not  merely 
a  two-thirds  majority,  but  the  entire  number  of  the  professed  members  of 
the  convent  now  within  its  walls — being  thus  duly  assembled,  the 
aforesaid  Prior,  Fra  Hieronymo  Savonarola  of  Ferrara,  addressed  them 
in  a  clear  voice,  so  as  to  be  understood  by  all,  to  the  following  effect : — 

"  Whereas  the  constitutions  of  the  Order  of  Preachers  prescribe  that  the 
Provinces  of  the  Order  should  be  kept  distinct,  nevertheless,  by  reason  of 
the  fewness  of  its  members,  our  Convent  of  S.  Marco  was  sometime 
since  united  to  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy.^  Subsequently,  at  the 
request  of  the  Prior  and  Fathers,  it  was  again  separated  therefrom  ;  but 
for  a  second  time,  for  the  same  reason  as  before,  it  was  not  indeed  formally 
united  with,  but  "  commended "  to,  the  same  Congregation,  being  once 
more  placed  under  obedience  to  its  superiors.-  But  now  the  number  of 
Fathers  and  Brothers  has  so  greatly  increased  that  the  convent  may 
much  more  suitably  be  put  on  its  proper  footing,  and  be  ruled  by  its  own 
superiors,  independently  of  the  Province  of  Lombardy.  We  had  there- 
fore determined  to  present  a  petition  to  this  effect  to  our  lord  the  Pope, 
to  the  end  that  we  might  for  the  future  live  and  serve  God  in  peace,  and 
in  all  love  and  charity. 

"  But  because,  as  we  learn,  it  has  been  represented  to  the  Cardinal  our 
Protector,  that  this  is  the  wish  of  only  a  few  of  us,  it  has  seemed  well  to 

^  This  was  in  145 1.  The  occasion  of  the  union  was  the  plague  which  had 
devastated  Italy  in  1448  (Marchese,  Sunto  Storico,  p,  93).  It  might,  indeed,  with 
some  show  of  justice  have  been  objected  that  this  appeal  to  antiquity,  and  to  the 
constitutions  of  the  Friars  Preachers,  was  a  piece  of  special  pleading.  For  at  the 
time  when  the  "stricter  observance"  was  instituted  by  B.  Raymund  of  Capua  and 
B.  Giovanni  Dominici,  the  reformed  houses  in  Italy  (to  whatever  Province  of  the 
Order  they  might  have  belonged)  had  been  united  in  a  single  "Congregation" 
(not  "  Province,")  which,  from  the  circumstance  that  most  of  these  reformed 
houses  were  in  northern  Italy,  bore  the  name  of  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy. 
And,  in  particular,  the  Convent  of  S.  Marco  had  been  from  its  foundation  a 
member  of  this  Lombard  Congregation  [Annali  del  Convento  di  S.  Caierina, 
p.  605  ;  cf.  Marchese,  Sunto  Storico,  p.  35).  At  what  precise  date  the  first 
separation  was  effected  we  are  unable  to  state. 

'^  The  second  separation  took  place  in  1469,  and  the  reunion,  by  way  of 
"commendation,"  in  1474  (Marchese,  ibid.,  p.  93), 


SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI  93 

seek  a  definite  expression  of  opinion  from  all  and  each  of  those  who  have 
a  voice  in  the  matter,  that  thus  our  petition  may  have  the  greater  force." 

Accordingly,  the  matter  having  been  fully  discussed  in  chapter,  the 
Brethren  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the  petition  for  a  separation 
be  made  in  accordance  with  the  words  of  our  Prior. 

Moreover,  the  Prior  aforesaid  did  a  second  time  on  the  same  day 
propose  the  same  matter  in  the  same  form  to  the  brethren  in  chapter 
assembled,  to  the  end  that  they  might  more  fully  deliberate  thereupon. 
And  after  this  second  discussion  they  unanimously  declared  their 
adhesion  to  the  resolution  already  arrived  at. 

Finally,  after  yet  a  third  discussion  in  chapter,  the  Prior  requested  the 
professed  brethren,  singly  and  apart,  and  in  silence,  to  express  in 
writing  their  vote  or  opinion  on  the  matters  aforesaid. 

Here  follow  the  signatures,  each  with  a  few  words  appended. 
One  says  that  he  greatly  desires  the  separation ;  another  that  he  has 
always  desired  it ;  a  third  wishes  that  he  had  a  hundred  votes  to 
give  for  it;  others  protest  that  they  wish  it  "for  the  good  of 
religion,"  or  "  for  the  honour  of  God,"  or  that  they  give  their  votes 
freely  and  not  out  of  fear  of  the  Prior,  or  at  his  persuasion.  Lastly, 
one  of  the  signatories  wishes  for  the  separation  "  that  he  may  serve 
God  more  freely." 

All  is  duly  attested  by  public  notaries,  and  sealed  with  the  seal  of 
the  city.^ 

The  memorial,  though  obviously  an  ex  parte  statement,  sufficiently 
sets  forth  the  state  of  the  case  as  represented  by  the  Prior  and 
community  of  S.  Marco  from  an  historical  and  constitutional  point 
of  view.  But  we  gain  a  better  insight  into  the  inner  motives  which 
actuated  Savonarola  in  this  matter  from  a  long  letter  on  the  whole 
subject  which  he  addressed,  in  the  autumn  of  1493,  to  the  Lady 
Abbess  of  a  convent  of  nuns  at  Ferrara.  We  summarise  it  here,  out 
of  its  chronological  order,  because,  though  written  later,  it  has  reference 
to  the  events  of  the  time  with  which  we  are  here  concerned  :- — 

\oih  September  1493;  Savonarola  to  "una  Badessa  di  Ferrara."— 
Honoured  Mother— Your  letter  has  given  me  great  pleasure,  and  your 
kind  admonition  proceeds,  as  I  know,  from  a  sincere  zeal,  and  I  accept  it 
as  a  sign  of  your  true  charity  towards  me  (che  voi  mi  amate  in  veritk 
senza  dissimulazione).  I  wish  I  could  speak  with  you  in  person,  for  I  feel 
sure  that  I  could  satisfy  you  concerning  our  affairs.  In  the  meanwhile 
(since  you  hear  reports  to  our  disadvantage)  suspend  your  judgment,  and 
await  the  issue  of  events.  Remember  our  Lord's  words  :  "  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them." 

'  Gherardi,  pp.  42-52.  "^  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  lii.  sqq. 


94  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

This  separation  from  the  Lombard  Congregation  is  a  thing  which /(^rj^ 
might  be  either  good  or  bad  (according  to  circumstances)  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  a  matter  on  which  a  hasty  judgment  should  not  be  formed.  In  the 
case  of  a  spiritual  body  or  corporation  the  amputation  of  a  limb  may  be 
good  or  bad.  It  is  good  if  the  rest  of  the  body  be  corrupt,  that  the 
healthy  member  be  not  likewise  corrupted  ;  bad  if  the  rest  of  the  body  be 
thoroughly  sound,  sound  internally  as  well  as  in  outward  appearance.  I 
do  not  say  that  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy  is  unsound  ;  but  this  I  do 
say,  that  if  it  be  truly  sound,  and  we  unsound,  then  the  result  of  our  separa- 
tion ought  to  be  that  the  amputated  member,  i.e.  ourselves,  should  show 
signs  of  corruption.'  But  if  on  the  contrary  the  Congregation  be  sound 
only  in  appearance,  and  not  inwardly,  then  the  detached  member  will 
escape  from  being  corrupted  by  the  body,  and  will  become  healthy,  and 
grow  by  the  grace  of  God.     Therefore,  I  say,  await  the  result. 

It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  say  that  we  have  entered  upon  a  new  mode  of 
life.  A  return  to  the  principles  and  example  of  our  saintly  predecessors  is 
not  the  adoption  of  a  new  mode  of  life.  To  build  poor  convents  ;  to  wear 
a  rough  and  old  and  patched  habit  ;  to  eat  and  drink  within  the  limits 
of  sobriety  as  determined  by  the  saints  ;  to  live  in  a  poor  cell,  bare 
of  superfluities  ;  to  cultivate  silence  and  solitude  ;  to  separate  oneself 
from  the  world,  and  give  oneself  to  contemplation — these  are  not  innova- 
tions. But  for  mendicants  to  build  themselves  palaces  with  marble 
columns  ;  to  live  in  a  cell  handsome  enough  for  a  prince  ;  to  hold 
possessions  contrary  to  the  profession  of  one's  Order  ...  to  wear  rich 
cloth  in  place  of  rough  serge  (vestirsi  non  di  panno  piu  vile  ma  piu  vano)  ; 
to  pray  little  ;  to  wander  hither  and  thither  ;  to  wish  to  be  poor  and  at 
the  same  time  to  want  for  nothing — these  things  are  indeed  innovations, 
and  are  a  stumbling-block  to  souls.  Our  first  fathers  lived  in  one  fashion, 
our  modern  fathers  live  in  another.  Let  every  one  make  his  choice 
between  the  old  style  and  the  new.  Our  way  of  life,  instead  of  giving 
scandal  here  in  Florence,  on  the  contrary  gives  great  edification.  And 
yet  you  tnust  know  that  we  have  hardly  begiai  to  carry  out  what  we  intend. 
Hitherto  we  have  made  comparatively  little  change  in  our  former  way  of 
life,  but  with  the  help  of  your  prayers  and  advice  we  hope,  little  by  little, 
to  introduce  a  stricter  observance. 

'  The  logic  of  this  paragraph  strikes  us  as  not  merely  a  little  faulty  but  also  a 
little  ill-natured.  It  is,  in  fact,  nothing  short  of  an  absurdity  to  say  that  because 
the  division  of  a  parish,  diocese,  congregation,  or  the  like  issues  in  happy  results 
for  one  of  the  parts,  therefore  the  other  part  must  be,  or  must  have  been,  in  an 
unsound  state.  Nor  can  we  read,  with  any  feeling  of  satisfaction,  Savonarola's 
invitation  to  his  friends  and  followers  to  think  ill  of  their  neighbours  even  when 
externally  there  appears  no  manifest  fault.  This  is  only  one  of  many  such  instances. 
In  the  days  of  his  later  conflicts  he  was  wont  to  urge  that  the  good  men  were  all 
on  his  side.  And  when  it  was  urged  that  there  were  also  good  men  on  the  other 
side,  his  reply  was  that  though  perhaps  good  in  appearance  they  were  inwardly 
corrupt.  He  was  fond  of  denouncing  Pharisaism,  but,  if  we  are  not  mistaken, 
there  was  an  element  of  unconscious  Pharisaism  in  his  own  judgments  of  men. 


SAVONAROLA  AND   IMERO  DE'  MEI31CI  95 

Here  follows  a  passage — to  which  we  have  already  had  occasion 
to  refer— which  Fra  Girolamo  tells  how  the  step  has  not  been  taken 
without  mature  and  serious  consideration  ;  and  how  prayers  for  light 
and  guidance  have  been  offered  during  a  long  period,  not  merely 
within  the  walls  of  S.  Marco  but  throughout  the  city  and  elsewhere  ; 
and  how  the  gravest  Fathers  have  assured  him  of  their  conviction  that 
God  Himself  had  inspired  him  with  this  design,  and  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  carry  it  into  execution  without  further  delay. 

It  is,  then,  he  urges,  incredible  that  so  many  servants  of  God, 
united  in  one  common  bond  of  charity,  having  the  honour  of  God 
and  the  good  of  souls  alone  in  view,  should,  after  so  many 
prayers,  nevertheless  be  deceived.  If  there  is  an  appearance  of 
singularity  in  their  mode  of  life,  the  reason  is  because  the  world  is 
sunk  in  darkness,  and  every  class  and  condition  of  men,  and  of 
women  too,  has  become  depraved. 

It  is  time,  it  is  time,  it  is  indeed  time  to  adopt  a  singular  mode  of  life, 
because  the  world  has  grown  tepid,  so  that  God  may  well  say,  in  the 
words  of  the  Apocalypse  :  "  I  will  begin  to  vomit  thee  out  of  my 
mouth."  It  is  indeed  time  to  reform  ourselves  and  to  contemn  the 
judgments  of  men  :  "  For  all  men  are  liars."  It  is  time  to  wage 
war  against  false  and  tepid  brethren.  What  the  Apostle  says  is  un- 
doubtedly true  :  "  All  they  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer 
persecutions."  The  tepid  have  not  to  endure  many  persecutions,  because 
the  devil  does  not  persecute  his  own  ;  but  the  fervent  meet  with  fierce 
opposition  because  they  are  themselves  opposed  to  Satan.  The  cause  of 
our  Lord  cannot  succeed  but  by  war  (non  surgono  senza  guerra).  There- 
fore, when  you  live  well,  and  yet  meet  with  no  contradiction,  you  ought  to 
fear,  for  it  is  not  God's  way  to  leave  His  servants  here  without  war. 

The  letter  concludes  with  an  earnest  encouragement  not  to  yield 
to  pusillanimity,  and  with  an  equally  earnest  petition  for  intercessory 
prayer.    One  sentence  in  particular  deserves  to  be  specially  noted : — 

"  It  would  be,"  he  says,  "  a  supremely  foolish  thing  for  me  to  entertain 
any  such  solicitude  as  to  say  :  '  If  I  were  to  die,  who  would  carry  on  and 
observe  the  reform  ? '     As  if,  forsooth,  God  had  need  of  my  help." 

We  cannot  help  thinking  that  if  Fra  Girolamo  had  throughout  his 
career  been  more  consistently  true  to  the  principle  expressed  in  these 
words,  his  great  work  for  God  would  have  been  more  far-reaching 
and  more  perdurable  in  its  results.  Was  it  not  precisely  because  he 
allowed  himself  to  believe  that  his  presence  in  Florence,  and  his  elo- 
quence in  the  pulpit,  were  necessary  to  the  promotion  of  God's  cause, 
that  he  allowed  himself  to  be  betrayed  into  an  o]iposition  to  lawful 


96  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

authority  which — liowever  it  may  have  been  excused  by  his  good 
faith — was  objectively  incapable  of  justification  ?  But  this  is  a  matter 
to  which  we  shall,  of  course,  have  occasion  to  return  in  the  sequel. 

The  affair  of  the  petition  quickly  became  a  matter  of  public  and 
even  of  political  interest.  It  was  opposed,  not  merely  by  the 
superiors  of  the  Lombard  Congregation,  but  also  by  Lodovico  Sforza, 
Duke  of  Milan,  d'Este  of  Ferrara,  Bentivoglio  of  Bologna,  the 
Venetian  Signory,  and  even  by  the  King  of  Naples  and  the  Duke 
of  Calabria.^  On  the  other  hand,  as  appears  from  contemporary 
documents,  it  was  warmly  seconded  by  the  Florentine  Signory  and  by 
Filippo  Valori,  their  representative  in  Rome.^  Even  Piero  de'  Medici 
himself  wrote  a  letter  in  support  of  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco,  and 
their  cause  was  favoured  by  his  brother,  the  Cardinal  Giovanni  de' 
Medici,  who  afterwards  became  Pope  Leo  X.  It  was  still  more 
effectively  promoted  by  the  Cardinal  Protector  of  the  Order,  Oliviero 
Caraffa,  Archbishop  of  Naples.  Villari  expresses  some  surprise  that 
Piero  should  have  interested  himself  in  the  matter,  and  the  more  so 
because,  as  has  been  said,  he  is  of  opinion  that  Savonarola's  mission 
to  Bologna  was  not  improbably  due  to  de'  Medici's  desire  to  be  rid, 
at  least  for  a  time,  of  the  troublesome  Friar.  But  we  have  already 
given  our  reasons  for  doubting  whether  Piero  had  anything  whatever 
to  do  with  the  sending  of  Era  Girolamo  to  Bologna  ;  and  the  simplest 
explanation  of  the  support  which  he  gave  to  the  project  of  separation, 
and  of  the  corresponding  opposition  of  Lodovico  Sforza  and  the 
Milanese,  appears  to  us  to  be  that  a  patriotic  sentiment  of  a  not 
very  enlightened  kind  was  in  each  case  successfully  invoked.  The 
politicians  of  those  days  were  not  likely  to  trouble  themselves  about 
the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  case  for  or  against  the  Florentine  convent, 
or  to  take  account  of  the  ultimate  issues  of  a  step  which,  in  its 
purely  religious  aspect,  did  not  at  all  concern  them. 

The  following  letter  of  the  Signory  to  Cardinal  Caraffa,  of  which 
we  give  the  substance,  sufficiently  explains  itself : — 

Zth  May  1493  ;  The  Signory  to  Caraffa.' — This  is  to  inform  you  that 
Era  Alexandro  Rinuccini  and  Era  Domenico  da  Pescia,  religious  of  our 

1  Burlamacchi,  p.  56. 

"^  The  Ten  to  Valori,  lOth  May  and  7th  June  ;  the  same  to  Caraffa,  loth  May 
(Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  xl.-xlii.).  These  letters  confirm  the  account  of  the  matter 
given  by  Cinozzi  (p.  il)  and  Burlamacchi  {loc.  cit.).  Filippo  Valori  was  nephew 
to  Francesco,  Savonarola's  chief  political  supporter. 

•■'  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  xlvi.  The  letter  is  undated,  but  in  the  collection  of 
Florentine  State   papers  it   is  placed   between   two   others  written   respectively 


SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI  97 

convent  of  S.  Marco,  have  set  out  for  Rome,  to  confer  with  you,  bearing 
commendatory  letters  from  the  Cardii  .1  of  Florence  (Giovanni  de'  Medici) 
and  from  his  brother  Piero.  And  although  we  are  well  aware  that  those 
letters  will  have  very  great  weight  with  you,  yet  we  on  our  own  account 
do  recommend  these  friars  to  you  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  (iterum 
atque  iterum).  We  believe  that  the  cause  which  they  have  in  hand  is 
one  which  concerns  not  merely  the  good  of  the  Convent,  but  the  interests 
of  the  whole  Church  (universae  Religioni  utilem  honorificamque  multis 
rationibus  futuram).'  If  you  support  their  petition  you  will  give  the 
greatest  pleasure  to  the  whole  people  of  Florence,  for  we  have  learned 
greatly  to  love  this  convent,  both  for  the  holy  manner  of  life  which  there- 
in prevails,  and  for  the  learning  which  distinguishes  it. 

Notwithstanding  these  strong  recommendations,  Rinuccini  and  da 
Pescia  found,  on  their  arrival  in  Rome,  that  it  would  prove  no  easy 
task  to  carry  their  point.  Indeed,  so  powerful  was  the  opposition 
that  it  seemed  likely  to  prove  entirely  victorious,  when  a  bold  act  of 
the  Cardinal  Protector  decided  the  matter  in  favour  of  the  petitioners. 
On  22nd  May,  a  consistory  had  been  held,  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  the  Pope  dismissed  the  cardinals,  declaring  that  on  that  day 
he  would  sign  no  Brief.  Caraffa,  however,  who  knew  his  man,  and 
was  well  aware  that  Alexander  VI.  had  no  deep-seated  convictions 
on  the  matter  in  hand,  remained  behind  when  the  rest  departed,  and 
producing  a  form  of  Brief  which  he  had  already  prepared,  begged 
the  Pope  to  sign  it.  Alexander  demurred,  but — as  the  story  is  told 
by  Burlamacchi — offered  no  resistance  when  Caraffa  took  his  signet 
ring  from  his  finger  and  himself  afifixed  the  Papal  seal  to  the 
document.  As  Caraffa  left  the  palace,  rejoicing  in  his  success,  he 
met  the  envoys  of  the  opposing  party  on  their  way  to  the  Pope. 
Alexander,  however,  told  them  that  if  they  had  come  a  few  minutes 
sooner  they  might  have  been  heard,  but  that  now  what  was  done 
was  done  and  should  not  be  undone  to  please  them.^ 

The  Brief  itself  is  not  specially  remarkable.  It  sets  forth,  rather 
more  explicitly  than  the  petition  of  the  brethren,  that  an  un- 
authorised attempt  has  been  made  to  subject  the  convent  of  S. 
Marco  more  fully  and  unreservedly  to  the  Vicar  of  Lombardy  than 

on  7th  and  Sth  May  (Villari,  loc.  citJ).  This  and  several  other  letters  on  the  same 
subject  are  from  the  hand  of  the  learned  Bartolommeo  Scala,  at  that  time  First 
Secretary  to  the  Republic.  He  was  a  personal  friend  and  supporter  of  Fra 
Girolamo,  in  whose  favour  he  subsequently  wrote  an  apologetic  tract  (Villari). 

^  We  do  not  think  that  "Religio"  here  means  (as  it  sometimes  does)  a 
religious  order,  but  rather  the  Christian  religion  in  general,  or,  in  the  concrete, 
the  Church. 

*  Burlamacchi,  pp.  50-57. 

C 


98  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

was  contemplated  when  the  said  convent  was  "commended"  to  the 
Lombard  Congregation ;  but  declares  that  from  henceforth  the 
community  of  S.  Marco  is  entirely  withdrawn  from  the  government 
of  the  superiors  of  Lombardy,  and  is  placed  under  the  immediate 
jurisdiction  of  the  General  of  the  Order,  to  whom  it  belongs  to  con- 
firm the  election  of  the  Prior,  who  is  to  be  chosen  yearly.  The 
privilege  thus  granted  is  to  be  understood  to  extend  to  members  of 
the  convent  who  for  the  time  being  may  be  absent  therefrom,  and 
also  to  members  of  other  convents  who  may  be  actually  inmates 
of  S.  Marco,  provided  that  the  community  be  willing  to  accept  them 
as  brethren,  and  that  they  do  not  themselves  wish  to  return  to  the 
houses  from  which  they  may  have  come.  Should  they,  however, 
desire  to  return  to  their  own  houses,  they  may  do  so  without  the 
permission  of  the  Prior  of  S.  Marco.^ 

Closely  connected  with  this  Brief,  which  was  received  at  S.  Marco 
on  25th  May,  is  a  curious  document,  drawn  up  on  the  following 
day,  of  which  we  give  the  substance  below.  It  may  fitly  be 
introduced  by  the  summary  of  a  letter  under  cover  of  which  it  was 
despatched  to  Piero  de'  Medici : — 

itth  May  1493  ;  Jacopo  Salviati  to  Piero  de'  Medici.^— I  have  visited 
S.  Marco  with  a  view  to  the  settlement  of  this  business  ("questa  cosa" 
i.e.  the  affair  of  the  separation)  in  company  with  a  representative  of  the 
Congregation  (of  Lombardy),  and  they  have  arrived  at  an  agreement 
(compositione),  of  the  terms  whereof  I  enclose  a  copy.  By  virtue  of  it, 
as  you  will  see,  you  are  made  the  referee  in  the  event  of  any  dispute 
arising.^  Be  kind  enough  to  send  a  reply  by  the  bearer,  so  that  every- 
thing may  be  finally  settled  to-morrow  morning.  And  although  the 
parties  concerned  approve  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  they  will  approve 
them  much  more  fully  if  they  understand  that  the  matter  proceeds  from 
you  ;  because  both  parties  in  fact  wish  just  what  you  wish  (ognuno 
di  loro  in  effecto  vuole  quello  che  vuoi  tu)  and  it  seems  impossible  that 
anything  could  be  better  managed  than  you  have  managed  this  business 
(n^  pare  che  si  possa  procedere  .  .  .  meglio  in  cosa  nessuna,  quanto  hai 
facto  tu  in  questa  opera). 

*  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  xlii.  sqq. 

*  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  xliv. 

'  So  we  understand  the  words :  "La  quale  (convenzione)  mi  pare  apunto 
secondo  I'intento  tuo  .  .  .  per  chi  il  si  et  il  no  (togni  coticlusione  resta  in  te 
apunlo,  come  vedrai."  Inasmuch  as  the  compact  does  not  mention  Piero  except 
in  its  superscription  (which  Villari  unwarrantably— as  it  seems  to  us— has  separated 
from  the  text)  we  must  understand  this  superscription  ("  Expediatur  Breve,"  etc.) 
as  making  him  official  arbiter. 


SAVONAROLA  AND  PIERO  DE'  MEDICI  99 

Let  [a  copy  of]  the  T5rief  be  exerutcd  and  sealed,  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Piero  de'  Medici. 

The  Congregation  of  Lomburdy  shall  continue  to  hold  to  the 
convent  of  S.  Marco  at  Florence  the  same  relations  which  it  held 
previously  to  the  recent  Brief  (restet  .  .  .  in  eo  esse  in  quo  erat  ante 
impetratum  Pireve),  but  with  this  condition,  that  no  act  of  the  superiors 
of  Lombardy  having  reference  to  the  said  convent  shall  be  held  to 
derogate,  or  to  have  been  intended  to  derogate,  from  the  Brief,  or  from 
the  rights  of  the  convent  or  its  members.  Let  this  be  observed,  faith- 
fully and  without  cavil,  on  both  sides."* 

Cosci,  not  without  some  show  of  reason,  regards  this  strange 
compact  as  a  piece  of  elaborate  futility,  a  form  of  concession  which 
concedes  nothing,  and  which  must  have  been  drawn  up  purely 
honoris  causa,  and  as  a  salve  for  the  wounded  feehngs,  or  wounded 
pride,  of  the  Lombards.'-  But  we  find  it  difficult  to  beUeve  that 
Salviati,  and  Piero  his  employer,  would  have  troubled  themselves 
about  a   mere  interchange  of  complimentary  phrases   between  the 

^  The  terms  of  the  document  are  sufficiently  obscure  to  make  it  desirable 
to  give  the  full  text  here  : — 

"  Expediatur  Breve  et  sigillatum  deponatur  in  manus  Petri  de  Medicis.  Congregatio 
Lombardiae  restet,  quoad  Conventum  Sancti  Marci  de  Florentia,  in  eo  esse  in  quo  erat  ante 
impetratum  Breve,  cum  hac  conditione  ;  quod  per  aliquem  actum  qui  fieret  per  praepositos 
Congregationis  Lombardiae  in  Conventu  et  seu  (sic)  in  Fratribus  Conventus  Sancti  Marci, 
quantuncunque  contrarius  Brevi  non  intelligatur  praejudicatum  dicto  Brevi,  et  seu  iuribus 
Conventus  Sancti  Marci  quaesitis  seu  quaerendis  per  dictum  Breve,  si  quando  ad  dictum 
Conventum  seu  ejus  Fratres  perveniret,  quia  fuisset  eis  exhibitum.  Bona  fide  et  sine  cavillatione 
praedicta  serventur  per  partes. 

The  obscurity  lies  in  the  words  from  "si  quando  "to  "exhibitum."  We  understand  them 
(pace  Villari)  to  mean  that  any  act  of  the  Lombard  Superiors  which  may  happen  to  contravene 
the  provisions  of  the  Brief  is  not  to  be  understood  to  have  been  done  with  intent  to  contravene 
it,  simply  on  the  ground  that  the  Brief  has  been  shown  to  them  {i.e.  to  the  Lombards).  It  might 
easily  happen,  that  in  any  dispute  that  might  subsequently  arise,  the  Lombards  should  un- 
wittingly contravene  the  Brief.     They  here  disclaim  all  intention  of  so  doing. 

-  Cosci  writes  :  "  Fu  stipulata  .  .  .  una  convenzione,  nella  quale  si  dichiarava 
.  che  la  Congregazione  lombarda  riteneva  in  Toscana  la  sua  antica  autorita 
(but  the  compact  says  nothing  about  "authority"),  in  tutto  quello  per6  che  non 
contradicesse  al  breve  dei  22.  Era  una  astuzia,  direi,  diplomatica  .  .  .  ma  un' 
astuzia  richiesta  dallo  stato  delle  cose,  htfatti  non  significava  nulla  il  dichiarare 
che  alia  Congregazione  Lombarda  rimaneva  Patiiica  atdoriti  sua  (which  is  just 
what  the  compact  does  not  say),  quando  il  breve  papale  sottraeva  affatto  da  ogni 
dipendenza  della  delta  Congregazione  il  Convento  di  San  Marco  .  .  .  Ma  non 
conveniva  spingcr  le  cose  tanf  oltre  da  disprezzare  anche  i  riguardi  pin  consueti," 
etc.  (pp.  290  sqq. ).  Cosci's  mistake  (as  it  seems  to  us)  lies  in  his  having  read 
into  the  meaning  of  the  compact  a  word  ("  authority")  which  is  not  there  found, 
and  which  surely  would  have  been  found  there  if  the  intention  had  been  to  express 
the  corresponding  idea.  Between  two  such  bodies  as  the  Congregation  of  Lom- 
bardy and  the  community  of  S.  Marco  there  might,  and  would  be,  other  relations 
besides  that  (now  abrogated)  of  "  authority,"  as  we  shall  endeavour  to  explain 
above. 


100  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

parties  to  what  on  Cosci's  hypothesis  would  be  a  purely  nugatory 
compact.  The  explanation  which  we  would  suggest  is  this :  Apart 
from  the  matters  legislated  for  in  the  Brief,  it  might  happen  that 
the  Lombard  Superiors  had  some  outstanding  claim,  or  might  come 
to  have  a  claim,  against  S.  Marco,  or  vice  versd,  notably  as  regarded 
the  subjects  of  one  or  other  obedience  who  might  happen  then  or  at 
any  other  time  to  be  resident  in  a  house  of  the  rival  jurisdiction,  or 
again  as  regarded  property  or  financial  matters  generally.  And  it 
can  easily  be  understood  that  it  might  seem  prudent  to  enter  a 
caveat  lest  the  Brief  should  be  made  an  excuse  for  disregarding  any 
such  rights  or  claims  as  were  left  untouched  by  that  decree.^ 

However  this  may  be,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the 
deferential  and  almost  obsequious  tone  of  the  short  letter  which 
Fra  Girolamo  addressed  to  Piero  de'  Medici  on  this  occasion. 

Magnifico  Piero, — I  have  told  these  Fathers  of  ours  {i.e.  the 
Lombards)  that  my  intention  and  that  of  my  convent  is  to  do  all  that 
your  magnificence  may  desire  •  .  .  for  we  are  ever  ready  to  carry  out 
all  your  wishes  (ogni  vostra  voglia).  I  recommend  to  you  your 
convent. 

The  words  which  we  have  italicised  suggest  a  doubt,  as  we  have 
already  said,  whether  Fra  Girolamo's  attitude  towards  Piero's  father 
was  always  quite  so  loftily  independent  as  Burlamacchi  represents  it  to 
have  been.  Or  had  his  experience  of  the  need  in  which  he  stood  of 
the  support  of  the  secular  power  taught  him  to  adopt  an  altered 
tone?  And  was  there  just  possibly  a  tendency  to  excess  both  in 
his  former  aloofness  and  in  his  present  readiness  to  carry  out  "all 
the  wishes  "  of  Messer  Piero  ? 

*  Another  possible  explanation,  which  is  adopted  by  Villari,  is  that  the  compact 
was  concluded  before  the  receipt  of  the  Brief.  In  this  case  the  words  "si 
quando  perveniret,  etc.,"  would  have  to  be  understood  of  the  Brief  itself",  and  not 
(as  we  understand  the  matter)  of  the  supposed  act  of  the  Lombard  Superiors.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  the  superscription  to  which  we  have  already  referred  seems  to 
us  to  mean  that  an  officially  authenticated  copy  of  the  Brief  is  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Piero.  If  this  is  so,  the  Brief  must  have  been  already  in  the  hands  of 
the  Piior  of  S.  Marco.  We  are  glad  to  find  ourselves  in  agreement  with  Mr 
Armstrong  {C.M.H.  i.  148  sqq.~)  on  the  subject  of  Savonarola's  relations  with 
Piero  de'  Medici  at  th's  period. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO — EXTENSION  OP 
THE  REFORM 

ACCORDING  to  Burlamacchi,  Savonarola  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  the  loss,  so  far  as  concerned  himself  individually,  of 
whatever  advantage  he  had  hoped  to  gain  from  the  Brief  of 
separation.  As  a  member,  originally,  of  the  Convent  of  S.  Domenico 
at  Bologna,  he  was — previously  to  the  arrival  of  this  Brief — personally 
subject  to  the  Vicar  of  the  Lombard  Congregation ;  and  before  the 
Brief  was  issued  a  letter  had  been  actually  despatched  by  the  Vicar, 
in  which,  under  the  severest  ecclesiastical  penalties,  Fra  Girolamo 
was  commanded  to  leave  Florence  without  delay.  The  letter, 
however,  was  addressed  to  the  Prior  of  S.  Domenico  at  Fiesole,  of 
which  that  of  S.  Marco  had  been  originally  an  offshoot,  and  thus 
it  happened  that,  the  Prior  being  absent  from  home,  the  order  was 
not  communicated  to  Fra  Girolamo  till  a  few  hours  after  the  Brief 
had  already  secured  him  against  its  effect.^  Whether  it  was  that 
notwithstanding  the  Brief  the  Lombard  Fathers  had  already  showed 
that  they  were  not  disposed  to  desist  from  their  efforts  to  assert  their 
authority  over  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco,  or  whether  the  measure 
was  merely  one  of  precaution,  Fra  Giovacchino  Torriano,  the 
General  of  the  Order,  issued  a  mandate,  dated  i8th  June,  by  which 
the  members  of  the  Lombard  Congregation  were  strictly  forbidden 
to  molest  those  of  S.  Marco  wherever  they  might  be  (per  mundum 
discurrentes  in  serviciis  et  beneficiis  Religionis  et  Conventus) ;  and 
it  is  prescribed  that,  if  they  should  have  occasion  to  visit  Lombardy, 
they  are  to  be  received  with  all  kindness  and  charity.-  A  second  letter 
to  the  same  effect,  dated  i6th  November,  shows  that  the  General's 
apprehensions  had  not  been  unfounded,  and  that  even  stronger 
measures  were  needed  to  check  vexatious  and  as  it  seemed  to  him 

'  Huilamacchi,  pp.  57-58.     He  quaintly  adds:   "  Cobi  il  i'lioie  di  Fiesole  se 
ne  lorn6  coUe  trombc  nel  sacco.^' 
^  Gherardi,  pp.  53-54. 


ioi  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

mischievous  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  separated  convent. 
In  the  meanwhile,  however,  a  process  had  yet  to  be  gone  through 
before  Fra  Girolamo's  position  was  altogether  safe.  It  was  necessary 
that  he  should  be  formally  accepted  and  adopted  as  a  member  of  the 
community  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  Brief.  On  24th  June 
this  was  done,  amid  many  demonstrations  of  joy,  on  the  proposal  of 
the  sub-prior,  Fra  Battista  Antonii.^  And  on  the  27th  of  the  same 
month  Torriano,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  all  doubts  or  cavils, 
issued  a  letter  in  which  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  and  Fra  Domenico 
Buonvicino  are  declared  "  to  have  been  and  to  be  transferred  to  the 
Roman  Province  and  to  the  Convent  of  S.  Marco."  2 

The  work  of  the  reform  of  the  convent  was  now  earnestly  taken 
in  hand,  its  most  noteworthy  external  feature  being,  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  letter  to  the  Ferrarese  Abbess,  which  has 
been  quoted  above,  the  enforcement  of  the  observance  of  religious 
poverty,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  high  standard  of  work.  It  had 
been  a  standing  matter  of  controversy  whether  the  practice  of  living 
solely  on  alms,  without  fixed  revenue,  as  instituted  by  S.  Dominic, 
could  be  maintained  under  changed  conditions  of  society. 
Practically  more  than  one  attempt  to  restore  the  earlier  discipline 
had  failed.  As  the  Pisan  chronicler  has  it,  the  "  stricter  observance  " 
had  become  a  name  rather  than  a  reality.  Fra  Girolamo  seems  to 
have  struck  out  a  middle  course.  He  renounced  the  temporal 
advantage  of  a  fixed  revenue,  but  would  have  his  brethren  to 
supplement  by  their  earnings  the  alms  that  might  be  bestowed  on 
the  convent.    Marchese  writes  : — 

"  He  at  once  undid  the  work  of  Fathers  Santi  Schiattesi  and  Giuliano 
Lapaccini  [the  successors  of  S.  Antonio  in  the  government  of  S. 
Marco]  .  .  .  and  renounced  the  possessions  which  .  .  .  these  two 
religious  had  obtained  for  the  convent.  But  in  order  that  the  mendicant 
state  of  life  might  not  give  occasion  or  afford  a  pretext  for  idleness,  he 
introduced  into  the  new  congregation  the  practice  of  manual  labour,  and 
especially  the  arts  of  design,  to  the  end  that  those  who  by  reason  of 
natural  incapacity,  or  any  other  cause,  were  unable  to  pursue  the  course 


*  "  Summo  omnium  consensu  et  miro  gaudio  exceptus  est  in  Conventus  hujus 
nativum  filium  et  omnium  communem  patrem.  Qua  de  re  patres  et  fratres 
maximas  grates  Altissimo  reddiderunt,  qui  sibi  tanluni  patrem,  vita  et  doctrina 
excellentissimum,  sociare  et  copulare  dignatus  fuerit"  (Ubaldini,  Cronaca  di  S 
Marco,  «/«<</ Gherardi,  p.  55). 

2  Gherardi,  pp.  54-55- 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO  103 

of  ecclesiastical  studies,  might  at  least  spend  their  lives  in  work  that  was 
both  ennobling  and  profitable.  The  result  was,  that  this  convent,  and 
the  others  which  became  associated  with  it,  produced  a  number  of 
distinguished  painters,  sculptors,  architects,  modellers,  brass-founders, 
and  wood-carvers.  .  .  . 

"  Three  branches  of  study  were  carried  on  at  S.  Marco  under  the 
government  of  Fra  Girolamo — scholastic  theology,  moral  theology,  and 
Holy  Scripture.  To  the  first  only  a  very  few  were  admitted.  .  .  . 
Those  who  were  less  gifted  he  advised  to  apply  themselves  to  the  study 
of  moral  theology.  But  most  earnestly  he  inculcated  on  all  the  study 
of  Holy  Scripture,  and  that  this  might  be  pursued  with  profit  he  made 
provision  for  the  teaching  of  Hebrew,  Syriac,  and  Chaldee.  In 
this  school,  among  many  others,  was  trained  the  celebrated  Santi 
Pagnini 

"One  of  the  chief  advantages  which  arose  from  this  study  of  Holy 
Scripture  was  a  revival  of  the  ministry  of  preaching  ;  and  the  Dominican 
of  S.  Marco  learned  to  expound  in  a  series  of  discourses  one  or  other  of 
the  books  of  the  Bible,  thus  anticipating  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  which  prescribed  these  public  expositions  of  Holy  Scripture. 

"  He  introduced,  moreover  ...  a  far  greater  austerity  of  life  ;  prayer 
was  made  continuously  through  many  hours  of  the  day  and  night,  poverty 
in  raiment  and  furniture  was  most  strictly  observed,  fasting  and  other 
penitential  practices  were  greatly  increased. 

"  He  himself  was  conspicuous  among  the  brethren  in  the  exercise  of 
these  virtues,  and  holding  as  he  did  the  office  of  superior  of  all,  was  ever 
ready  to  take  upon  himself  the  most  fatiguing  and  abject  employments.  .  .  . 

"  In  a  word,  such  was  the  charity  and  fervour  of  the  community,  that 
the  author  of  the  Cedriis  Libani  does  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  the 
Convent  of  S.  Marco  at  this  period  as  a  new  Eden."^ 

The  number  of  the  inmates  increased  within  a  few  years  from 
about  50  to  nearly  300,  and  these  included  members  of  the  noblest 
and  most  distinguished  families  in  Florence.  No  less  than  six  of  the 
house  of  Strozzi,  and  five  of  the  Bettini  were  among  those  on  whom 
Savonarola  bestowed  the  habit,^  and  the  names  of  Medici,  Gondi, 
Acciaiuoli,  Tornabuoni,  Vespucci,  Salviati,  are  found  in  various  lists 
of  signatures  and  similar  documents.^  This,  it  need  hardly  be  said, 
is  a  sign  that  the  admirable  example  of  the  fervent  community  had 
won  for  them  the  esteem  of  all  classes ;  and  the  fact  that  so  many 
families  in  the  city  counted  one  or  more  members  within  the  walls 

^  Marchese,  Siinto  Storico,  pp.  154  sqq.  We  have  slightly  abridged  some 
portion  of  the  passage  quoted,  which  is  of  course  based  on  the  early  biographies,  and 
the  contemporary  records  of  the  Order. 

'^  Annali  di  S.  Calerina,  pp.  623-4. 

*  Cf.  Marchese,  p.  1 56. 


104  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

of  S.  Mnrco  powerfully  helped  to  maintain  friendly  relations 
between  the  citizens  and  the  reformed  Friars.  In  the  course  of 
four  years  the  convents  of  the  Order  at  Fiesole,  Pisa,  and  Prato, 
perhaps  too  that  of  S.  Romano  at  Lucca,i  were  separated  from  the 
Lombard  province  and  united  with  S.  Marco,  and  a  new  priory, 
colonised  from  that  centre,  was  established  near  Bibbiena.  And  in 
1495  the  associated  houses  were  formally  recognised  as  members  of 
a  new  Congregation,  of  which  Savonarola  was  elected  the  first  Vicar- 
General. 

These  facts  might  be  taken,  and  have  been  taken,  as  bearing 
witness  to  the  high  reputation  which  the  Convent  of  S.  Marco  had 
attained  under  the  government  of  Savonarola ;  nor  have  we  any 
desire  whatever  to  minimise  their  significance.  At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  another  side  to  the  picture.  In 
no  case  except  that  of  Fiesole  can  the  adhesion  of  the  incorporated 
convents  be  said  to  have  been  spontaneous  or  even  voluntary.  At 
Pisa  all,  and  at  Prato  nearly  all,  of  the  Friars  who  were  already  in 
possession  were  obliged  to  leave  their  convent  to  make  room  for  a 
colony  from  S.  Marco,  and  it  is  impossible  not  to  recognise  among 
the  causes  of  the  movement  a  strong  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
Florentine  Signory  to  interfere  in  the  religious  affairs  of  the  cities 
subject  to  her  sway.  And  so  it  happened  that  an  attempt  to  bring 
the  Dominican  house  at  Siena  under  allegiance  to  S.  Marco  signally 
failed,  that  a  similar  project  in  regard  of  the  Convent  at  S.  Gimignano 
was  opportunely  dropped,  and  that  the  success  of  the  undertaking  at 
Pisa  was  but  ephemeral.  The  documents  which  we  proceed  to 
summarise  or  calendar,  will  sufficiently  illustrate  what  has  been 
said  : — 

\oth  June  1493  ;  The  Signory  to  Carafifa.^ — We  thank  you  heartily 
for  having  restored  S.  Marco  to  its  former  state  of  liberty,  and  we  are  all 
the  more  grateful  for  the  way  in  which  you  have  used  your  wisdom  and 
authority  to  bring  this  matter  more  speedily  to  a  successful  issue. 
Moreover,  the  whole  people  [of  Florence]  shares  our  gratitude.  We 
think,  too,  that  you  have  done  a  thing  very  pleasing  to  God  ;  for  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  religious  observance  will  greatly  flourish  in  this  convent, 
of  which  the  inmates  live  most  holy  lives. 

\^th  November  J  Torriano  to  Savonarola.^ — Our  office  requires  that 

^  So  says  I'errens,  p.  84,  but  does  not  give  his  authority.     We  know  of  no 
documents  bearing  on  the  suljject. 
'■^  \'illari,  i.  Append,  p.  xlvii. 
*  Gherardi,  p.  56. 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO  to? 

we  should  move  about  from  place  to  place  ;  wherefore,  as  many  things 
may  happen  which  would  require  the  interposition  of  our  aulliority,  and 
it  is  undesirable  that  you  should  have  to  send  hither  and  thither  to  seek 
me  (ne  vobis  hue  atque  illuc  post  me  sit  cursitandum)  we  hereby  confer 
upon  you  and  your  successors  in  the  office  of  Prior  the  full  power  and 
authority  of  a  Provincial. 

idth  November;  Torriano  to  Fra  Vinccntio  da  Castronovo,  Vicar  of 
the  Reformed  Convents  of  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy.'— The 
Brethren  of  S.  Marco  are  in  nowise  to  be  molested  or  defamed,  under 
pain  of  excommunication. 

28M  November;  The  Signory  to  Caraffa.-— You  will  be  glad  to  know 
how  excellent  have  been  the  results  of  your  efforts  on  behalf  of  the 
Convent  of  S.  Marco.  Now  all  the  brethren  of  S.  Domenico  at  Fiesole 
desire  to  adopt  the  same  work  of  life,  and  to  be  united  to  S.  Marco.  We 
beg  you  to  expedite  the  matter. 

Satne  date;  The  same  to  Ser  Antonio  da  Colle.'— We  beg  you  to  use 
your  efforts  in  favour  of  the  union  of  S.  Domenico  at  Fiesole  with  S. 
Marco. 

\Tth  December;  The  Signory  to  Caraffa.*— Some  years  ago  the 
Convent  of  5:anta  Caterina  at  Pisa  was,  at  the  instance  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici  and  others,  united  with  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy,  and  was 
at  that  time  in  great  measure  reformed  by  means  of  the  brethren  of 
S.  Marco.  But  matters  are  again  in  a  state  of  confusion,  and  the  best 
remedy  would  seem  to  be  that  the  said  convent  should  be  united  to 
that  of  S.  Marco,  and  the  work  of  reform  resumed.  We  pray  you  to 
use  your  good  offices. 

The  reform  mentioned  in  this  letter  had  taken  place  only  four  or 
five  years  previously,  viz.  in  1488  or  1489,  The  annalist  of  the  Con- 
vent describes  in  emphatic  terms  the  state  of  laxity  into  which  the 
community  had  fallen,  and  hints  at  worse  evils,  with  the  recital  of  which 
he  will  not  offend  modest  ears.^  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  had  used  his 
influence  with  Innocent  VIII.  to  procure  a  Brief  whereby  S.  Caterina 
was  placed  under  obedience  to  the  Lombard  Congregation  ;  where- 
upon a  colony  of  some  twenty  friars  from  S.  Marco  at  Florence  had 

'  Gherardi,  p.  57. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  5S. 

3  Gherardi,  p.  59.  Da  Colle  was  at  this  time  the  Florentine  ambassador  in 
Rome. 

*  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  xlvii. 

0  The  laxity,  so  far  as  it  is  explicitly  described,  was  in  the  matter  of  poverty. 
"Cetera  taceo,"  writes  tlie  annalist,  "quae  castas  autes  oftensura  cerlo  certius 
scio."  And  he  adds  :  "  Nee  hoc  luiic  ConveiUui  lantum  accidise  quis  suspicetur  : 
toti  fere  Ordini  communis  fuit  hie  morbus,  et  multis  adhuc  provinciis  et  Conventi- 
bus  eo  anno  quo  hxc  scribo  MDL,  hoc  malum  serpit "  {Annali  del  Convento  di 
S.  Caterina,  p.  604). 


io6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

been  established  there,  the  former  inmates — with  the  exception  of  a 
few  who  were  willing  to  accept  the  reform — being  dispersed  to  various 
other  houses  of  the  Order.^ 

Same  date;  The  Signory  to  da  Colle.^ — We  charge  you  to  promote 
the  union  of  the  Pisan  convent  with  that  of  S.  Marco.  While  urging 
this  matter,  try  also  to  obtain  permission  for  the  houses  at  Fiesole  and 
San  Gimignano  to  enter  into  a  similiar  union. 

11/7/  January  1494;  Same  to  same.^ — It  now  seems  best,  "per 
buono  rispecto  et  per  maggiore  facilitk,"  to  desist  from  pushing  the 
cause  of  the  convent  at  San  Gimignano.  Therefore,  confine  your  efforts 
to  those  of  Fiesole  and  Pisa. 

jih  April  J  Same  to  same.^ — You  are  already  aware  how  earnestly 
the  whole  city  desires  that  the  convents  of  Fiesole  and  Pisa  may  be 
allowed  freely  to  separate  themselves  from  the  Lombard  Congregation, 
after  the  manner  of  our  own  S.  Marco  ;  and  as  the  Cardinal  of  Naples 
carried  through  the  former  business,  we  charge  you  to  urge  him  to  use 
his  good  offices  in  this  matter  also. 

20th  April;  Same  to  same."^ — We  have  received  a  letter  altogether 
contrary  to  our  hopes  and  expectations  ;  but  cannot  persuade  ourselves 
that  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinal  will  continue  to  refuse  what  we  ask. 
Wherefore,  mindful  of  the  words  of  the  Gospel:  "Ask  and  ye  shall 
receive,"  we  are  determined  to  urge  our  petition  once  more.  We  are 
confident  that  the  boon  which  we  seek  will  tend  to  the  splendour  of 
divine  worship  (perch^  il  culto  divino  ne  sark  piu  ornato).  The  Fathers 
of  Lombardy  have  no  just  ground  for  resentment,  because  every  one,  and 
most  of  all  those  who  make  profession  of  religious  life,  ought  to  rejoice 
at  whatever  promotes  the  glory  of  God.  Let  the  Cardinal  be  more 
fully  informed  about  the  matter,  and  he  will  surely  grant  us  this  favour. 

\st  May ;  Fra  Francesco  Salviati  (Prior  of  Fiesole)  to  Savonarola.^ — 
Our  affair  in  Rome  progresses  on  the  whole  favourably.  Our  Cardinal 
Protector  is  unwilling  to  grant  us  what  we  ask  except  under  conditions 
(patti)  which  have  been  arranged  with  the  ambassadors,  and  of  which 
I  send  you  a  copy.  For  my  part,  I  wish  for  no  conditions  or  form  of 
agreement  with  the  Lombard  Fathers  except  that  we  should  live  in 
mutual  charity. 

Meanwhile,   the   superiors    of    Lombardy  have    been   forbidden   to 

^  Annali,  pp.  605-6. 

2  Gherardi,  p.  59. 

3  Gherardi,  p.  60. 
*  Gherardi,  ibid. 

'  S.  Gimignano  was  in  the  Sienese  territory,  and  Siena  would  have  none  of 
the  reform. 

•5  Villari,  p.  xiviii. 

7  Gherardi,  p.  60.  The  letter  is  written  from  Rome,  whither  Salviati  had 
gone  to  plead  the  cause  of  his  convent. 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO  107 

remove  from  Pisa  any  of  the  brethren  who  may  be  natives  of  that  city, 
or  of  Florence,  or  to  exercise  any  kind  of  jurisdiction  or  authority  over 
our  house  at  Fiesole  until  this  matter  has  been  settled.  His  Holiness 
has  given  you  perniission  by  word  of  mouth  to  build  a  new  convent. 

As  for  me,  I  am  content  to  abide  by  your  judgment  in  all  things 
(stare  secondo  che  pare  a  tutti  voi),  and  I  am  ready  to  lay  down 
my  life  for  my  convent,  as  Jesus  Christ  laid  down  His  for  me. 

\%th  May;  The  Signory  to  Caraffa.^— We  beg  you  to  arrange  for 
the  unconditional  separation  of  the  houses  at  Fiesole  and  Pisa." 

27//i  May ;  Torriano  to  Savonarola.^ — We  hereby  give  you  per- 
mission to  send  two  of  your  subjects  to  Rome  at  any  time,  to  treat  of 
the  affairs  of  your  convent. 

2n,i  June;  The  Signory  to  Caraffa.* — We  thank  you  for  the  frankness 
with  which  you  explain  to  us  the  difficulties  which  cause  this  affair  to 
drag  on  ;  and  we  trust  to  your  kindness  and  your  wisdom  to  over- 
come these  obstacles. 

Same  date;  The  Signory  to  Messer  Puccio  Pucci.^— We  send  a  copy 
of  our  letter  to  CarafTa,  and  also  a  memorandum  of  replies  to  the 
objections  raised  by  him.  Pray  forward  the  matter  to  the  best  of 
your  ability. 

This  concludes  the  series  of  letters,  so  far  as  these  letters  have 
hitherto  been  published,  relative  to  the  affair  of  the  convents  at 
Fiesole  and  Pisa.  Their  actual  union  with  S.  Marco  was  not 
finally  effected  till  August,  1494;"  and  this  in  a  very  different 
fashion,  and  with  very  different  results,  as  regards  the  one  and  the 
other.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  inmates  of  S.  Domenico  at 
Fiesole  cordially  desired  the  union,  and  the  closest  relationship  was 
subsequently  maintained  between  this  house  and  S.  Marco.  At 
Pisa,  as  has  already  been  said,  it  was  far  otherwise.  The  Signory 
had  begged,  on  behalf  of  the  convent  of  S.  Caterina  in  that  city, 
that  it  might  be  allowed  "  freely  "  to  unite  itself  with  the  Florentine 
House.  But  they  had  at  the  same  time  allowed  another  motive  for 
their  action  to  appear,  besides  the  assumed  desire  to  make  matters 
easy  for  the  Pisan  friars.     "  Because  this  convent  is  at  Pisa,"  they 

*  Gherardi,  p.  62. 

2  "  Nullis  additis  conditionibus  "  ;  in  allusion  to  the  "patti"  of  which  Salviati 
speaks  in  his  letter  of  ist  May. 

^  Gherardi,  p.  63. 

''  Gher.irdi,  u'ni. 

^  Gherardi,  p.  64.  Pucci  would  seem  to  have  superseded  da  CoMe  (supra, 
p.  105). 

«  Ubaldini,  Cronaca,  apiid  Gherardi,  p.  58  ;  Annali  di  S.  LuUiinu,  pp.  609  s,j<j. 


ro8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

had  said,  "  we  greatly  desire  that  it  should  be  reformed  by  our 
Florentines."  ^  "  Our  Florentines,"  as  has  been  seen,  had  already 
made  one  attempt  to  effect  a  reform  at  S.  Caterina  by  the  drastic 
measure  of  displacing  the  former  inmates  by  a  colony  from  their  own 
body.  Some  of  these  colonists,  however,  and  among  them  Fra 
Domenico  da  Pescia  and  Fra  Salvestor  Maruffi,  who  afterwards 
suffered  death  with  Savonarola,  had  in  the  meanwhile  returned  to 
S.  Marco.2 

What  actually  happened  on  the  present  occasion  shall  be  told  in 
the  words  of  the  Annals  of  the  Convent  of  S.  Caterina  at  Pisa,  the 
writer  of  which  is,  it  should  be  observed,  a  declared  admirer  of 
Fra  Girolamo. 

"On  the  Festival  of  the  Assumption,  1495  Ufy^^'  Pisano ;  i.e.  1494] 
there  came  to  the  convent,  from  Florence,  Fra  Hieronymo  Savonarola 
.  .  .  with  some  of  his  brethren  and  certain  Florentine  citizens,  among 
whom  was  Filippo  Pandolfino,  Prefect  of  the  city  \i.e.  Gonfaloniere  of 
Florence  ?].  There  in  the  presence  of  all,  in  chapter  assembled,  he  read 
the  papal  Brief.  Hieronymo  was  the  founder  of  the  Congregation  [of 
S.  Marco],  and  was  at  that  time  the  Vicar-General  thereof,  being  the 
first  to  hold  that  dignity.  To  him  were  already  subject  the  convents  of 
Fiesole  and  of  S.  Marco  at  Florence,  and  to  these,  on  this  day,  our  house 
was  aggregated  (tertius  iis  hac  die  additus  est  noster).  Before  the 
reading  of  the  Pope's  letter,  the  question  was  asked  whether  any  of  the 
brethren  here  resident  wished  to  become  members  of  the  new  Congrega- 
tion. They  were  forty-four  in  number.,  of  whom  [only)  four  elected 
to  remain  [under  the  new  regitne\.  These  were  Fra  Stephano  da 
Codiponte,  Fra  Domenico  .  .  .  Fra  Martino  Buonconti  .  .  .  and  Fra 
Simpliciano,  a  lay  brother  (con versus),  %vho  was  on  his  deathbed.,  having 
already  received  extreme  unction.  The  rest  preferred  to  return  to 
Lombardy.  The  Prior  was  relieved  of  his  office,  and  went  away  with 
them.  Then  Fra  Hieronymo  assigned  nezv  brethren  to  the  convent.,  of 
whom  twenty-two  were  choir  brothers  (vocales);  and  the  convent  seemed 
to  be  entirely  changed  (novusque  visus  est  conventus). 

"This  state  of  things,  however,  was  not  of  long  duration.  For  the 
city  of  Pisa,  which  for  more  than  eighty  years  had  enjoyed  undisturbed 
peace  under  the  dominion  of  Florence,  taking  occasion  from  the 
expedition  of  Charles,  King  of  the  French  .  .  .  and  attracted  by  the 
pleasant  name  of  liberty,  revolted  from  the  Florentines.  And  because 
nearly  all  the  brethren  were  Florentines  they  were  regarded  with  sus- 
picion by  the  newly  established  Republic.  .A.ccordingly,  in  January 
(1495)   the   Prior   with   his    Tuscan   companions  returned  to   Florence, 

^  Letter  of  7th  April,  supra. 
2  Annali  del  Convento,  p.  607. 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO  109 

and  the  Lombard  friars,  authorised  thereto  by  a  papal  Brief,  resumed 
possession." ' 

The  narrative  hardly  needs  a  word  of  commentary.  It  is  suffi- 
ciently obvious  with  what  degree  of  truth,  or  untruth,  it  had  been 
alleged  that  the  Pisan  friars  desired  the  permission  "  freely  "  to  unite 
themselves  with  S.  Marco.  The  whole  business  was  one  in  which 
political  motives  had  been  used  to  forward,  under  false  pretences,  a 
project  of  reform  whicli,  however  excellent  in  itself,  could  not  justify 
the  means  adopted  for  its  furtherance  in  this  case.  Within  a  very 
few  months  the  whole  scheme  collapsed.  On  the  revolt  of  Pisa,  the 
Florentine  friars  were  ordered  to  leave  their  new  home,  and  the 
Lombard  brethren  regained  possession.- 

In  one  of  the  letters  already  summarised,  Savonarola  is  informed 
that  the  Pope  gives  him  permission  to  build  a  new  convent.  This 
permission  probably  had  reference  to  the  "  Luogo,"  or  Residence 
of  S.  Maria  del  Sasso  near  Bibbiena,  a  house  which  was  already 
dependent  on  S.  Marco.  The  two  letters  which  follow  make 
mention  of  this  establishment,  and  incidentally  show  that  the  Pisan 
chronicler  was  anticipating  matters  when  he  described  Savonarola 
as  "Vicar-general,"  in  August  1494.  It  was  not  till  the  end 
of  May  1495  ^^^^  he  was  elected  to  and  confirmed  in  that 
ofifice. 

2Si/i  May  1495  !  Torriano  to  "  the  Prior  and  Brethren  of  the 
Convent  of  S.  Marco  at  Florence  of  the  Tuscan  Congregation  of  the 
Roman  Province  of  the  Order  of  Preachers."^ — Whereas  the  "Locus" 
of  S.  Maria  del  Sasso  has  been  heretofore  united  with  your  Convent, 
and  has  hitherto  possessed  only  the  status  of  a  Residence  (pro  Loco 
habitus  fuit) ;  and  whereas  now  it  has  been  enlarged  and  improved  so  as 
to  be  capable  of  containing  a  community  such  as  is  sufficient  to  form  a 
convent,  we  hereby  accept  and  adopt  it  as  a  convent  (of  the  Order)  ; 
and  we  give  you  full  authority  over  it,  and  declare  it  to  be  a  member  of 
your  Congregation. 

Same  date ;   Same  to  same.* — Whereas  this    year,  by  God's  favour, 

^  Afinali  del  Convento  di  S.  Catenna,  loc.  cit.  Apparently  the  Pifans  reckoned 
their  year,  like  the  Florentines,  from  25th  March,  but,  as  compared  with  the 
common  reckonint;  from  1st  January,  they  counted  from  the  previous  Maicii,  tlie 
Florentines  from  the  following  March.  The  writer  of  the  Anuali  alludes  to  the 
difference  of  reckoning  on  p.  606. 

-  Annali,  p.  610. 

'  Gherardi,  p.  65. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  66. 


no  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

you  have  for  the  first  time  held  a  capitular  meeting  (congregationem 
capitularem)  wherein  you  have  unanimously  petitioned  that  the  venerable 
Fra  Hieronymo  de  Ferrara,  notwithstanding  his  office  of  Prior,  may  be 
acknowledged  and  confirmed  as  your  Vicar  for  the  space  of  two  years, 
it  has  seemed  good  to  us  to  grant  this  your  petition,  and  I  hereby 
institute  and  confirm  the  said  Fra  Hieronymo  as  your  Vicar,  with  the 
powers  usually  held  by  Provincials,  and  in  particular  that  of  deputing 
a  Prior  for  the  Convent  of  S.  Maria  del  Sasso,  etc. 

We  have  purposely  reproduced,  in  full,  the  designation  of  the 
persons  to  whom  the  first  of  the  above  letters  was  sent,  because  it 
serves  to  show  that  the  "  Tuscan  Congregation "  of  reformed 
convents  was  already  considered  as  in  some  sense  forming  a  part  of 
the  "  Roman  Province  "  of  the  whole  Order.  The  Order  was  divided 
into  provinces;  but  a  particular  group  of  "reformed"  houses  belong- 
ing to  one  or  more  provinces  might  for  special  reasons  be  recognised 
as  a  "  Congregation."  There  was  no  Tuscan  "  Province."  There 
was,  however,  a  "Tuscan  Congregation,"  embracing  the  houses  at 
Perugia,  Cortona,  Pistoia,  and  Lucca,  but  quite  unconnected  with 
Savonarola's  reform  at  S.  Marco  and  Fiesole.^  Nevertheless,  the 
houses  of  this  Congregation  are  here  implicitly  grouped  with  S. 
Marco  under  a  common  designation.  The  Father-General  was 
supreme  over  all  "  Provinces "  and  "  Congregations."  What  has 
here  been  said  will  help  to  explain  a  later  piece  of  legislation,  with 
which,  as  will  be  seen,  Savonarola  refused  to  comply. 

The  following  letters  have  reference  to  the  affair  of  the  convent 
of  S.  Domenico  at  Prato.  This  house  had  been  founded  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  in  course  of  time  had  acquired  considerable 
possessions.  If  we  might  judge  from  this  document  before  us  it 
would  seem  that  considerable  laxity  had  crept  in ;  and  to  some 
extent  this  was  no  doubt  the  case,  or  else,  it  is  to  be  presumed, 
the  General  would  not  have  lent  his  aid  to  what  was  practically  an 
act  of  forcible  suppression.  So  far  as  the  Florentine  Signory  was 
concerned,  other  motives  besides  those  of  disinterested  zeal  may 
probably  have  been  at  work,  as  in  the  case  of  Pisa. 

i8i/i  Jcmicary  1495  {stylo  Floreniino,  i.e.  1496)  ;2  The  Florentine 
Signory  to  the  Gonfaloniere  and  Difensori  of  Prato.^ — You  have  a  house 

^  Annali,  p.  608. 

^  These  and  other  Florentine  documents  are  dated,  of  course,  according  to  the 
"Florentine  Style,"  according  to  which  the  year  began  on  25th  March.  Hence- 
forth we  shall,  without  further  remark,  reduce  the  dates  to  "  Roman  style." 

^  Gherardi,  p.  74. 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  S.  MARCO  111 

of  the  Order  of  Preachers  in  your  city,  the  inmates  of  which  do  not  give 
that  edification  which  is  to  be  expected  of  religious  men.  \Vc  have 
talked  over  the  matter  with  his  Paternity  the  General  of  the  Order,  who 
has  been  good  enough  to  visit  us  ;  and  he  has  given  us  good  grounds  to 
hope  that  he  will  proceed  to  a  thorough  reform  of  the  convent,  reducing 
it  to  a  stricter  observance,  and  sending  those  conventuals  away.^  He  is 
going  to  Prato  to  take  steps  to  this  effect.  We  beg  you  to  render  him 
every  assistance  (adiuto,  favore,  braccio,  una  volta  e  piu,  e  quanle  volte 
ne  richiedessi).  We  are  sure  you  will  do  this  willingly,  both  for  the 
honour  of  God  and  for  your  own  spiritual  good,  which  we  have  so  much 
at  heart.  If  any  one  should  raise  difficulties,  bid  him  in  our  name  not  to 
meddle  in  such  matters.  If  any  one  should  pertinaciously  resist,  send 
him  to  us  that  we  may  know  the  reason  why  he  attempts  to  hinder  so 
good  a  work  (che  vogliamo  intendere  perch^,  etc.). 

Torriano  on  his  arrival  at  Prato  received  the  Gonfaloniere  and 
Difensori  in  the  convent,  thanked  them  for  their  offer  of  help,  of 
which  he  told  them  that  he  should  avail  himself  in  case  of  need.^ 
The  Florentine  Signory,  as  the  next  letter  will  show,  were  determined 
that  the  Pratesi  should  have  no  excuse  for  neglecting  their  duty. 

22nd  January  1496 ;  Same  to  same. ^— Our  fellow  citizens  and 
commissioners,  Bernardo  Ridolfi  and  Domenico  Mazzinghi,  are  going 
with  the  Father-General  to  carry  out  our  commands  with  reference  to 
the  reform  of  the  Convent  of  S.  Domenico.  It  is  our  wish  and  command 
that  in  this  matter  you  should  obey  them  as  you  would  obey  ourselves.* 

The  "  conventuals "  of  Prato  were  no  more  ready  to  embrace 
the  Tuscan  reform  than  their  brethren  at  Pisa  had  been.  It  was 
therefore  necessary  to  make  some  provision  for  them,  "  ne  vagi  et 
dispersi  mendicare  cogantur,"  as  the  city  chancellor  expresses  it. 
Accordingly,  it  was  determined  that  two  contiguous  houses,  with 
their  gardens  and  appurtenances,  which  formed  part  of  the  pos- 
session of  the  convent,  should  be  ceded  by  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco 
to  the  General,  to  be  assigned  by  him  to  the  dispossessed  con- 
ventuals;  and  likewise  that  a  sum  of  125  "large  golden  florins" 
should  be  paid  over  to  Torriano  for  the  building  of  a  church  on  the 
site  selected. 

All  this  is  explained  at  great  length  in  a  form  of  agreement  dated 

1  The  members  of  houses  which  had  not  embraced  the  Raymundian  reform 
were  known  as  "  Convenluals." 

■^  Gherardi,  p.  74,  from  the  journal  of  tlie  city  Chancellor. 

•*  Gherardi,  p.  75. 

■*  Another  letter  of  the  same  dale,  and  of  piccisely  the  same  tenor,  immediately 
follows  in  Gherardi's  collection.  Probably  one  was  sent  by  a  courier,  ihe  other 
was  to  be  presented  by  the  commissioners  themselves, 


112  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

2Stli  January,  1496.^  The  document,  as  a  whole,  is  perhaps  of  some 
interest  from  a  legal  point  of  view,  or  from  that  of  the  local  antiquary, 
but  for  our  present  purpose  we  take  note  only  of  its  opening  clauses. 
It  sets  forth  that : — 

"Whereas  the  Convent  of  S.  Marco  has  become  incapable  of  accom- 
modating the  number  of  brethren  who  seek  admission  within  its  walls, 
their  magnificent  highnesses  the  Signory  of  Florence  desire  that  they 
may  be  put  in  possession  of  another  convent,  to  wit  that  of  S.  Domenico 
at  Prato  ;  we  therefore  {i.e.  Torriano)  wishing  to  satisfy  the  laudable 
desire  of  the  Signory,  and  lending  a  favourable  ear  to  the  petition  of  the 
people  of  Prato,  and  being  well  disposed  to  the  Tuscan  Congregation, 
which,  as  we  believe,  will  greatly  promote  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
good  of  souls,  do  now  (with  the  consent  of  the  Provincial  of  the  Roman 
Province)  convey  the  said  convent  at  Prato  to  Fra  Hieronymo  as  Vicar 
of  the  said  Congregation  ;  and  we  hereby  remove,  and  declare  to  be 
removed  the  brethren,  professed  or  otherwise,  who  have  been  hitherto  in 
possession  thereof." 

The  business  was  carried  out  with  remarkable  promptness. 
Already  in  30th  January  1496  the  Signory  wrote  to  the  magistrates 
of  Prato,  thanking  them  for  the  steps  which  they  had  taken  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  they  thought  it  well  to  send  Domenico  Mazzinghi  once 
more  to  see  that  the  final  arrangements  were  carried  out  without 
fail.-  On  that  same  day  the  Florentine  brethren  entered  into 
possession ;  and  on  the  next  Fra  Antonio  di'  Olandia  was  elected 
Prior  of  the  new  community.  It  was  he  who  had  been  chosen 
Prior  at  Pisa  in  1494,  but  had  been  obliged  to  return  to  Florence 
a  few  months  later. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that,  during  the  latter  part  of  these 
proceedings  at  Prato,  Savonarola  lay  under  a  sentence  of  suspen- 
sion from  preaching,  as  will  hereafter  appear.  The  circumstance 
shows  how  far  Torriano  was  from  entertaining  any  prejudice  against 
him  in  consequence  of  his  suspension  ;  a  point  which  has  its  bearing 
on  subsequent  events. 

*  Ghecaidi,  pp.  77  s^q,  *  Gherardi,  p.  83. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    FRIAR    AND    THE    FRENCH    KINO 

THE  general  rule  of  prudence,  if  not  always  of  obedience,  which 
prescribes  that  the  members  of  religious  orders  shall,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  abstain  from  taking  an  active  part  in 
political  affairs,  is  one  which  was  well  understood,  if  not  always 
well  observed,  in  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and  its  recognition  was  by 
no  means  reserved  for  the  post-Tridentine  period  of  the  history  of 
the  Church,  The  words  of  S.  Paul :  "  No  man  being  a  soldier  to 
God  entangleth  himself  in  secular  business,"  i  were  as  familiar  to 
Fra  Girolamo  as  they  can  be  to  any  one  in  our  own  days,  and  they 
were  in  fact  alleged  against  him  by  some  of  those  who  blamed 
him  for  the  part  which  he  took  in  public  affairs.^  The  rule,  how- 
ever, is  one  which  admits  of  exceptions  under  exceptional  circum- 
stances ;  and  we  are  not  of  the  number  of  those  who,  simply  because 
Fra  Girolamo  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  political  life  of  Florence 
during  the  years  1492-98,  are  prepared  to  condemn  his  action  with- 
out more  ado.  The  circumstances  of  his  time,  and  his  position  in 
the  city,  were  undoubtedly  exceptional ;  and  the  case  is  one  which 
deserves  careful  examination  before  a  judgment  is  passed  either  of 
condemnation  or  of  approval. 

Two  distinct  phases  of  his  conduct  have  to  be  considered ;  his 
relations  with  the  French  King,  Charles  VIII.,  and  his  action  with 
regard  to  the  internal  politics  of  Florence. 

The  invasion  of  Italy  by  Charles  VIII.  in  1494,  an  event  which 
marked  an  era  in  the  political  history  of  Europe,  undoubtedly  had 
the  appearance  at  the  time  of  being  the  fulfilment  of  Fra  Girolamo's 
prophecy  that  a  dire  calamity  was  soon  to  fall  upon  his  country. 
For  a  dire  calamity  it  most  assuredly  was,  disastrous  not  merely  in 
its  immediate  results,  but  as  having  paved  the  svay  for  future 
expeditions  of  the  same  kind. 

>  2  Tim.  ii.  4.  '  Burlaimccbi,  p.  78, 


114  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

It  cannot  then  be  wondered  at  that  Fra  Girolamo  should  have 
appealed  to  the  event  as  setting  the  seal  upon  his  prophetic  mission. 
"  Behold,"  he  cried,  "  the  sword  has  descended,  the  scourge  has 
fallen,  the  prophecies  are  being  fulfilled  ;  behold,  it  is  the  Lord  who 
is  leading  on  these  armies." ^  Nor  was  this  all.  It  was  not  merely 
that  in  general  terms  he  had  predicted  coming  disasters.  More  than 
once  he  had  predicted,  in  his  public  sermons,  that  a  royal  invader 
should  cross  the  Alps,  coming  like  another  Cyrus  to  be  the  instru- 
ment in  God's  hands  for  the  chastisement  of  the  people  of  Italy, 
and  in  particular  of  Rome.  Nay,  more  than  this,  he  had — so  he  tells 
us  himself— foretold  how  the  adversaries  of  the  invader  would  be 
utterly  unable  to  withstand  him,  and  how  the  rulers  of  Florence 
would  behave  like  drunken  men,  not  knowing  what  they  were  about, 
and  would  seek  the  alliance  of  one  who  was  to  be  vanquished.^ 

The  prophecy,  or  the  forecast  mistaken  for  a  prophecy,  was 
fulfilled,  it  must  be  confessed,  with  remarkable  accuracy.  The  ease 
with  which  the  French  army  overran  the  dominions  of  the  King  of 
Naples — to  say  nothing  of  the  collapse  of  every  attempt  at  opposition 
from  other  quarters — appeared  so  extraordinary,  that  contemporary 
writers  saw  in  the  sudden  success  of  Charles  VIII.  a  divine  judgment 
on  the  cruel  and  faithless  government  under  which  the  southern 
kingdom  had  so  long  groaned.^     And  the  Friar's  words  about  the 

^  S.  I  on  Aggaeus,  1st  November  1494;  Villari,  i.  226. 

^  "  Post  ista  vero  Deo  pariter  inspirante  praedixi  quemdam  transiturum  Alpes  in 
Italiam  simileni  Cyro,  de  quo  ita  scribit  Esaias  :  Haec  dicit  Dominus  Chiisto  meo 
Cyro,  cujus  apprehend!  dexteram,  etc.  .  .  .  (Isai.  xlv.  i  sqg.).  Dixi  quoque  ne 
Italia  arcibus  et  propugnaculis  suis  fideret,  quum  absque  ulla  difficultate  ab  illo 
expugnarentur ;  Florentinis  etiam  praedixi,  eos  praesertim  innuens  qui  tunc 
gubernabant  {i.e.  Piero  de'  Medici  and  his  supporters)  ipsos  electuros  esse  con- 
silium ac  deliberationem  suae  saluti  atque  utilitati  contrariam,  et  quod  infirmiori 
et  qui  superandus  esset  adhaererent  {i.e.  to  the  King  of  Naples);  quodque  tanquam 
temulenti  omne  consilium  prorsus  amitterent"  {Compendium  Revelationum,   pp. 

254-55)- 

^  "  Adl  2  di  Marzo  (1495)  venne  lettere  .  .  .  dal  Re  di  Francia  come  haveva 
avuto  vittoria  di  Napoli.  .  .  .  E  nota  tu  lettore,  e  considera  il  giudizio  di  Dio,  che 
un  si  fatto  Re  di  Napoli  si  sia  fuggito  et  abbandonato  il  Regno  con  si  fatte  rocche 
inespugnabili.  .  .  .  E  questo  precede  per  giusto  giudizio,  perche  lo  Re  Ferrando, 
e  lo  Re  Alfonso,  si  sono  portati  inverso  li  lor  popoli  e  sudditi  con  gravezzi, 
tradimenti,  morti  di  tanti  Baroni  e  Signori  del  Reame,  e  con  osservare  poca  fede," 
etc.  (Allegretti,  Diari  Sanesi,  in  Muratori,  R.  I.  S.  xxiii.  841).  Similarly  the 
author  of  the  Diario  Ferrarese  (Muratori,  xxiv.  294)  :  "II  Re  di  Franza  in  Napoli 
pacifice  con  grandissimo  triumpho  el  allegreza  di  quello  Popolo  intro  et  have  tutto 
generaliter  quello  Reame  di  Napoli  senza  una  colpa  di  spada,  et  senza  uccisione 
di  persona ;  ma  parse,  che  come  Messo  mandate  da  Dio  I'habbia  havuto  il  tutto." 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH   KING  tiS 

"  drunken  "  counsel  of  the  Florentines  were  certainly  verified  when 
Piero  de'  Medici,  instead  of  either  preserving  a  prudent  neutrality 
like  his  neighbour  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  or  at  least  counting  the 
cost  of  a  determined  resistance  to  Charles  VIII.,  first  provoked  him 
by  an  uncalled-for  show  of  amity  with  the  King  of  Naples,  and  then 
abjectly  yielded  to  his  most  exorbitant  demands.^ 

But  the  not  unimportant  question  here  arises :  When  were 
these  predictions  first  made?  Savonarola  himself  declares  that  it 
was  subsequently  to  the  vision  of  "  the  sword  of  the  Lord,"  i.e.  at 
some  time  after  the  close  of  Advent  1492,  and  therefore  not  before 
the  year  1493,  that  he  first  began  to  speak  "by  divine  inspiration" 
about  the  coming  of  the  new  Cyrus.2  Moreover,  since  he  spent  the 
Lent  of  1493  at  Bologna,  the  prediction  cannot  be  placed  earlier 
than  the  summer  or  autumn  of  that  year,  and  probably  not  before 
Advent,  or  possibly  not  before  the  Lent  of  i494-^  Burlamacchi 
throws  no  light  upon  the  subject,  for  he  merely  repeats  the  state- 
ments of  the  Cotnpendiu7n  Revelatioman.^  Cinozzi,  however,  who 
seems  to  imply  that  he  himself  repeatedly  heard  the  prediction,  tells 
us  that  it  was  uttered  "in  1494,"  when  Fra  Girolamo  "  was  preaching 
at  S.  Lorenzo."^  Unfortunately  this  is  an  intrinsically  impossible 
statement,  for  the  simple  reason  that  in  1494  Fra  Girolamo  did  not 
preach  at  S.  Lorenzo,  but  in  the  Duomo.  The  only  course  of 
sermons   which  he   preached   at   S.    Lorenzo  was,    as   Vivoli   very 

These  writers  can  hardly  have  been  directly  influenced  by  any  words  of  Savonarola. 
They  express  the  ideas  current  at  the  time  ;  ideas,  however,  to  which  the  letters 
of  the  French  king  (to  which  both  refer)  helped  to  f;ive  currency. 

1  Cinozzi  (p.  18)  and  Burlamacchi  (p.  67)  trace  in  some  detail  the  fulfilment 
of  the  "prophecy  "  so  far  as  it  concerned  the  vacillating  policy  of  Piero. 

*  "Post  ista"  {Compendium  Revelationum,  loc.  cit.). 

3  Probably  not  before  Advent,  for  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  Fra 
Girolamo  delivered  a  course  of  public  sermons  in  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1493. 

*  Burlamacchi,  p.  67. 

"  Cinozzi  writes  (p.  17) :  "  Nel  1494,  predicando  in  S.  Lorenzo,  disse  formaliter 
quete  parole  (essendo  in  pace  tutto  il  mondo,  ando  che  dalla  maggior  parte  era 
deriso) :  '  Credetemi  quello  che  vi  dico,  e'  verra  presto  uno  di  la  da  e  monti  a  uso 
di  Cyro,' "  etc.  ;  and  presently,  after  giving  the  words  about  the  drunken  men,  he 
adds  :  "E  le  parole  supra  dette  del  Padre,  le  udi'  da  lui  molte  volte,"  which  may 
perhaps  be  taken  (though  we  do  not  think  they  ought  to  be  so  taken)  to  mean  no 
more  than  that  at  a  subsequent  period  the  writer  frequently  heard  Savonarola 
repeat  what  he  had  previously  said.  It  is  not  safe  to  lay  too  much  stress  on  the 
words:  "Essendo  in  pace  tutto  il  mondo,"  or  on  the  remark  about  the  derision 
with  which  the  prediction  was  listened  to,  for  Savonarola  himself  assures  us 
{Compendium  Kevelatiovuvi,  loc.  cit.)  that  he  was  laughed  to  scorn  even  when 
the  disaster  was  immediately  imminent. 


It6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

explicitly  states,  the  Lent  of  1492.1  It  might  indeed  be  urged  that 
Cinozzi's  recollection  of  the  place  where  he  heard  the  words  is  to  be 
trusted  rather  than  his  assignment  of  the  date  at  which  he  heard 
them.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  would  have  the  strongest  motive 
for  giving  the  earliest  possible  date ;  and  if  the  prediction  had  indeed 
been  uttered  in  Lent  1492,  while  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  was  still  alive, 
or  immediately  after  his  death,  the  circumstance  would  have  been  so 
remarkable  that  it  could  hardly  have  escaped  explicit  notice.  More- 
over, Savonarola  himself  implies  that  at  the  time  when  the  Advent  of 
"  Cyrus  "  was  foretold,  Piero  de'  Medici  was  already  in  power.2  gyt 
in  fact  there  are,  as  has  been  seen,  independent  grounds,  based  on 
Savonarola's  own  words,  and  on  the  facts  of  his  life,  for  rejecting 
any  hypothesis  which  would  place  the  prediction  so  early  as  1492. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  be  certain  that  it  ought  to  be  placed 
so  late  as  the  Lent  of  1494.  For  the  sermons  preached  during  that 
season  are  extant,  and  they  do  not  contain  the  prophecy,  nor — with 
every  allowance  for  incomplete  reporting — is  it  easy  to  see  in  which 
of  them  it  could  have  found  an  appropriate  place.^  Either,  then,  it 
was  in  Advent  1493  that  Savonarola  first  began  to  speak  of  the 
Cyrus  who  was  to  come,  or  else  the  prediction  uttered  in  Lent  1494 
was  so  far  of  the  nature  of  an  obiter  dictum  that  it  has  found  no  place 
in  the  published  report  of  the  sermons. 

The  question  as  to  the  precise  date  of  the  prediction  (which  so 
far  as  we  are  aware  has  not  been  discussed  by  any  other  writer) 
might  seem  indeed  to  be  of  little  or  no  importance  were  it  not  that 
throughout  the  later  months  of  1493  negotiations  were  on  foot 
between  Charles  VIIL  and  the  princes  of  northern  Italy  having 
reference  to  the  projected  expedition.  And  at  least  from  the 
commencement  of  1494  it  was  matter  of  common  knowledge  that 
the   invasion   was   being   actively   planned.^      This    being   so,    the 

1  Vivoli,  Prima  Giornata,  in  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  lix. 

^  "Eos  praesertim  innuens  qui  tunc  gubernabant "  {Compendium  Revela- 
tionum,  loc.  cii.). 

2  That  the  published  sermons  Super  Arcam  belong  to  1494,  not  (as  Vivoli 
and  Villari  suppose)  to  1492,  will  be  shown  in  a  subsequent  note. 

4  The  first  negotiations  on  the  part  of  Charles  VIII.  with  the  Republic  of 
Venice  were  opened  shortly  after  25th  April  1493  {Storia  Veneziana,  in  Muratori, 
R.  I.  S.  xxiii.  1 201).  It  is  true  that  Com  mines  [Memoirs,  book  vi.  ch.  \.,Eng.  T7ans., 
ii.  119  sijq.)  writes:  "  In  the  year  1493  the  king  advanced  to  Lyons,  to  examine 
into  his  affairs  [i.e.  in  connection  with  the  expedition] ;  b7it  nobody  ever  imagined 
that  he  would  have  passed  the  mountains  himself."  But  the  rumour  of  a  probable 
invasion  had  certainly  gained  general  currency  very  early  in  1494,  if  not  sooner, 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  117 

hypothesis  of  a  divine  revelation  hardly  seems  necessary  to  account  for 
Savonarola's  words,  assuming  them  to  have  been  uttered  in  Advent 
1493  or  Lent  1494.^  It  was  of  course  impossible  that  any  one 
should,  by  purely  natural  means,  foresee  with  full  certainty  the  issue 
of  the  negotiations  and  preparations  that  were  afoot.  But  the 
circumstances  of  the  time  at  least  afforded  grounds  for  a  shrewd 
conjecture  both  as  to  the  general  results  of  the  invasion,  and  as  to  the 
individual  policy  of  Piero  de'  Medici,  of  which  indeed  he  made  no 
secret.  Obviously,  if  the  invasion  was  to  be  successful,  Piero's  line 
of  action  would  be  shown,  by  the  hard  logic  of  facts,  to  have  been 
politically  futile.  And  a  strong  desire,  such  as  Fra  Girolamo 
unquestionably  entertained,  would  at  least  go  a  long  way  to  inspire 
confidence  in  the  event.  The  event,  as  it  happened,  justified  the 
prophet's  confidence,  until — with  quite  unforeseen  suddenness — the 
political  pendulum  swung  back,  the  young  King  of  Naples  quickly 
recovered  what  his  father  had  so  quickly  lost,  and  Charles  VIII.,  the 
expected  Cyrus,  beat  an  inglorious  retreat.'-' 

We  are  the  more  inclined  to  think  that,  in  this  matter  of  the 
prediction  of  the  French  invasion,  Fra  Girolamo  was  deceived  as  to 
the  divine  origin  of  his  predictions,  because,  in  connection  with  this 
very  matter,  he  seems  to  have  allowed  himself  to  be  strangely 
deceived  as  to  his  own  past  action.  Less  than  two  years  after  the 
invasion  he  wrote  these  words  : — 

"  It  is  well  known  to  those  who  have  habitually  heard  me,  how  pre- 
cisely the  portions  of  Scripture  which  I  have  expounded  have  corre- 
sponded to  the  actual  condition  of  affairs.     Among  other  instances  there 

for  I^nducci  writes,  under  date  29th  January:  "E  a  di  29  •  .  .  ci  fCi,  come  el 
Re  di  Napoli  era  morto.  Alcuni  dicevano  che  gli  era  morte  di  maninconia,  perchi 
intendeva  tuttavolta  che'  I  Re  di  Francia  passava  "  [Diario,  p.  66).  Allegretti  in 
his  Diari  Sanesi  first  mentions  the  French  expedition  on  7th  March  (Muratori, 
xxiii.  868). 

'  If  we  might  believe  Nardi's  description  of  the  prevalent  feeling  we  should 
have  to  say  that  Fra  Girolamo  only  gave  public  utterance  to  thoughts  which  were 
already  in  the  minds  of  many.  "  Per  la  qual  cosa  (viz.  the  rumour  of  the  impend- 
ing invasion)  in  tutti  i  luoghi  e  nella  corte  della  Chiesa  romana  massimamcnte, 
era  nato  gran  travaglio  e  perturbazione,  come  se  Iddjo  avesse  eletto  questo  principe 
per  suo  singolare  instrumento  a  causare  qualche  rilevato  effetto  nella  sua  santa 
Chiesa  "(i.  20,  21).  Speaking  of  a  later  time  (June  1495)  the  author  of  the 
Diario  Ferraf  me  sa.ys  :  "Tutta  Italia  gridavano  ad  una  voce:  Franza  !  Franza  ! 
praeter  li  Signori  e  Signorie"  (Muratori,  xxiv.  309). 

^  Ferrante  of  Naples  died,  as  has  been  seen,  in  January  1494,  before  the 
invasion.     His  son  Alfonso  abdicated,  just  a  year  later,  in  favour  of  Ferrante  II, 


Il8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

is  one  which  has  excited  the  wonder  of  men  who  are  distinguished  for 
ability  and  learnin;^,  viz.  that  whereas  from  the  year  1491  till  1494,  with 
the  exception  of  one  Lent  at  Bologna,  I  preached  on  Genesis  during  the 
'whole  of  every  Advetit  and  Lent^  and  whereas  I  always  took  up  the 
exposition  of  the  text  at  the  point  where  I  had  left  it  at  the  close  of  the 
previous  Advent  or  Lent,  I  could  never  reach  the  chapter  on  the  Flood 
until  these  tribulations  had  already  commenced.  Moreover,  whereas  I 
had  supposed  that  I  should  be  able  to  expound  in  a  few  days  the  mystery 
of  the  construction  of  the  Ark,  so  many  new  thoughts  offered  themselves 
day  by  day  that  I  spent  the  whole  Advent  and  Lent  of  1494  on  that 
mystery."  ^ 

Now,  as  a  simple  matter  of  fact,  it  is  not  true  that  Savonarola 
preached  on  Genesis  in  every  Advent  and  Lent  from  1491  to  1494, 
with  the  sole  exception  of  the  Lent  at  Bologna.  The  period  in 
question  embraces  three  Advents  and  four  Lents,  of  these,  the  Lent 
of  1491  was  occupied  with  sermons  "on  the  Gospels"  i.e.  on  the 
Gospel  lessons  of  the  respective  days  ;  one  Advent  was  devoted  to 
the  exposition  of  the  First  Epistle  of  S.  John,  and  another  to  that 
of  the  Psalm :  "  Quam  bonus  Israel  Deus."  This  would  leave 
the  Lenten  seasons  of  1492  and  1494,  and  the  Advent  of  1493 
as  the  basis  of  the  sweeping  statement  which  we  have  quoted  from 
the  Compendium  Revelationum."  Moreover,  it  is  only  by  a  straining 
of  language  that  he  can  be  said  to  have  preached  continuously 
on  the   sixth   chapter   of  Genesis   throughout   the   Lent   of    1494, 

1  Compendium  Revelationum,  pp.  228-29.  He  obviously  means  the  Advent 
of  1493  ^nd  the  Lent  of  1494. 

"^  The  Lent  sermons  of  149 1  "on  the  Gospels'*  are  attested  by  the  rough  drafts 
which  still  survive,  and  of  which  several  have  been  published  by  Villari.  They 
obviously  belong  to  a  Lent,  and  can  belong  to  no  other  Lent.  The  Lenten  course 
of  1492,  preached  at  S.  Lorenzo,  is  mentioned  by  Vivoli,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  that  these  sermons  were  on  the  Book  of  Genesis.  But  Vivoli  is  mistaken 
in  supposing  that  the  printed  sermons  Super  Arcam  belong  to  that  year,  an 
error  in  which  he  has  been  followed  by  Villari  (i.  200,  and  Append,  p.  lix.). 
They  undoubtedly  belong  to  1494,  for  at  the  head  of  the  discourse  for  the  Tuesday 
in  Holy  Week  it  is  mentioned  that  this  day  fell  on  25th  March,  as  was  in  fact  the 
case  in  1494,  but  not  in  1492.  But  these  discourses,  in  their  turn,  allude  to  previous 
sermons  on  the  same  subject  as  having  been  preached  in  the  preceding  Advent 
(1493).  Consequently  the  sermons  on  the  Psalm,  "  Quam  bonus,"  notwithstanding 
Luotto's  ascription  of  them  to  Advent  1493,  must  really  belong  to  a  previous 
year,  i.e.  either  to  1 491  or  to  1492.  Internal  indications  make  it  clear  that  these 
discourses,  and  also  the  sermons  on  the  First  Epistle  of  S.  John,  belong  to  the 
Advent  and  Christmas  season  ;  but  it  is  not  clear  which  of  the  two  series  is  earlier 
in  date.  At  any  rate  the  two  Advents,  of  1491  and  1492,  are  both  accounted  for  ; 
and  it  will  be  seen  from  what  has  been  said  that  the  list  of  Savonarola's  sermons 
given  by  Luotto  (p.  18)  needs  revision  and  correction. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  119 

inasmuch  as  the  great  bulk  of  the  sermons  delivered  during  that 
season  have  no  connection  with  the  text  of  Genesis  vi.  beyond 
the  purely  artificial  arrangement  by  which,  as  has  been  said,  ten 
points  of  general  instruction  are  in  each  discourse  made  to  do 
duty  as  ten  planks  of  the  mystical  Ark.  When,  then,  Burla- 
macchi  writes :  "  This  was  wonderful,  that  whereas  he  expounded 
Genesis  for  many  years,  and  was  engaged  in  explaining  the  con- 
struction of  the  Ark,  he  could  never  reach  the  words  :  '  I  will  bring 
on  the  waters  of  a  deluge '  until  the  King  of  France  had  entered 
Italy  with  his  army,"  it  appears  to  us  that  he  is  creating  a  mystery 
when  in  reality  there  is  none.  A  preacher  who  could  occupy  the 
whole  of  Lent  with  discourses  professedly  based  on  three  or  four 
verses  of  Genesis  (vi.  13-16),  and  who  could  choose  his  own  time 
for  the  resumption  of  his  series  of  sermons,  would  experience  no 
difficulty  in  reserving  the  critical  text  for  the  appropriate  historical 
and  psychological  moment ;  and  one  who  was  so  deeply  convinced 
of  his  mission  to  read  and  interpret  the  signs  of  the  times  would  be 
under  the  very  strongest  inducement  —  an  inducement  none  the 
less  powerful  because  it  was  not  fully  present  to  his  consciousness — 
to  exercise  this  very  obvious  device  of  rhetorical  economy.  Again, 
it  would  seem  that  Villari  has  rather  unduly  emphasised  the  precise 
aptness  of  the  occasion  on  which  Savonarola  preached  on  the  text : 
"  Ecce  adducam  aqua  diluvii  super  terram." 

"  It  was  [he  says]  the  21st  of  September,  a  memorable  day  for 
Savonarola  and  for  Florence.  The  Duomo  could  hardly  contain  the 
crowd  of  people  who,  full  of  a  new  anxiety,  now  more  keen  than  ever, 
had  awaited  him  since  the  morning.  At  last  the  orator  mounted  the 
pulpit,  and  having  first  gazed  upon  the  audience,  and  perceived  the 
unwonted  trepidation  by  which  it  was  dominated,  he  cried  with  a  terrible 
voice  :  Ecce  adducain  aquas,  etc.  His  voice  seemed  like  a  clap  of 
thunder  bursting  within  the  church  ;  his  words  seemed  to  strike  everyone 
with  a  stormy  panic.  Pico  della  Mirandola  relates  that  a  cold  shiver 
ran  through  all  his  bones,  and  that  his  hair  stood  on  end,  and  Savonarola 
himself  declared  that  on  that  day  he  was  not  less  deeply  moved  than  his 
hearers."  ^ 

We  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  this  narrative  is,  so  far,  exaggerated ; 
for  Cerretani,  a  very  impartial  witness,  attests  the  extraordinary 
connection   produced   in   the   city — not    indeed    by  this  individual 

*  Villari,  i.  203  ;  Compcndiurn  Revelalionnni,  p.  229. 


I20 


GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 


sermon— but  by  these  September  discourses  generally.^  But  when 
Villari  goes  on  to  say  that  "  precisely  during  these  days  the  news 
had  arrived  like  an  unexpected  thunderbolt,  that  an  inundation  of 
foreign  troops  was  sweeping  over  the  Alps  to  conquer  Italy,"  he  is 
perhaps  stretching  the  facts  a  little  to  suit  a  theory.  The  fact  is,  that 
on  5th  August  the  French  ambassadors  were  already  in  Florence, 
treating  with  the  Signory  for  the  passage  of  the  king's  troops,  and 
were  assured  that  the  Florentines  were  the  king's  most  faithful 
friends.2  The  king  actually  set  out  upon  his  march  on  22nd  August ; 
on  5th  September  he  arrived  at  Turin,  and  on  the  21st  the  report 
reached  Florence  (though  it  afterwards  proved  unfounded)  that  he  had 
entered  Genoa.^  It  is  perfectly  true  that  many  even  of  those  who 
had  desired  the  advent  of  the  king  had  by  this  time  been  seized  with 
a  kind  of  panic  fear  at  his  approach,  and  the  tidings  of  the  sack  of 
Rapallo  (8th  September)  had  increased  the  alarm  ;  *  but  it  may  not 
unreasonably  be  suggested  that  this  very  alarm,  still  further  intensified 
as  it  was  by  the  preacher's  vehemence,  may  have  helped  men  to 
discover  so  peculiar  an  opportuneness  in  the  text  on  which  Fra 
Girolamo  preached  on  the  Feast  of  S.  Matthew  1494.  So  far  from 
suggesting  that  the  news  of  the  invasion  had  come  "like  an  un- 
expected thunderbolt,"  he  himself  says  very  simply  that  "  when  it 
was  now  known  that  the  French  king  with  his  army  had  already 
entered  Italy,"  he  preached  on  the  text :  "  Ecce  adducam  aquas." 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  we  insist  on  the  insufficiency  of  the 
grounds  on  which  a  special  divine  revelation  is  claimed  for  Savonarola 
in  connection  with  the  expedition  of  Charles  VIII.  If  he  was  not 
the  recipient  of  such  a  revelation,  if  he  was— in  plain  words — 
deluded  in  this  instance,  as  we  believe  him  to  have  been  in  others, 
then  his  action  in  relation  to  this  event  was  such  as  to  involve  him 
in  a  very  grave  responsibility,  from  which  nothing  but  the  plea  of 
good  faith  can  relieve  him. 

The  two  men  who  more  than  all  others  helped  to  draw  upon 

^  "  Aveva  predicato  in  Santa  Liperata,  et  avendo  a  I'entrata  del  re  di'  Francia 
in  Italia  a  punto  chiuso  I'Arca  con  tanto  terrore,  spaventi,  e  grida  e  pianti,  aveva 
fatto  alcune  prediche,  che  ciascuno  quasi  sejnivivo,  sanza  parlare,  per  la  citta 
sbigottiti  s'agiravano"  (Cerretani,  quoted  by  Villari,  i.  203  n.). 

^  Landucci,  Diario,  5th  August.  He  cautiously  adds:  "  Bench^  io  non  abbi 
queste  cose  se  non  per  pubrica  voce  e  fama."  But  the  value  of  his  testimony 
is  precisely  this,  that  he  lets  us  know  what  the  "  pubrica  voce  e  fama"  was, 

'  Landucci,  2 1st  September. 

*  Pastor,  V.  434-4S, 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  121 

Italy  the  flood  of  the  French  invasion  were  Lodovico  Sforza, 
the  Regent  (afterwards  Duke)  of  Milan,  and  Cardinal  Giuliano 
della  Rovere,  who  afterwards  succeeded  Alexander  VI.  on  the 
Pontifical  throne  as  Julius  II.  The  primary  pretext  for  the  expedition 
was,  of  course,  the  claim  to  the  kingdom  of  Naples  which  Charles 
had  inherited,  as  he  alleged,  from  Rene  of  Anjou.^  But  it  may  be 
safely  said  that  the  wish  to  enforce  this  futile  claim  would  never  have 
caused  the  king  to  cross  the  Alps  were  it  not  that  he  was  stimulated 
to  the  enterprise  by  external  influences.^  The  motive  which  led 
Lodovico  to  desire  the  invasion  was  his  fear  lest  he  should  be 
dispossessed  of  his  own  usurped  dominion  over  Milan  by  the  King 
of  Naples.  The  rightful  holder  of  the  Dukedom  was  Lodovico's 
nephew,  Gianiraleazzo  Sforza,  whose  wife  Isabella  was  niece  to 
Ferrante  of  Naples.  Lodovico  kept  Giangaleazzo,  a  youth  of  weak 
health  and  character,  in  close  confinement.  Isabella  naturally 
sought  the  redress  of  her  own  and  her  husband's  grievances  at  the 
hands  of  her  family.^  On  the  other  hand,  the  Cardinal  of  S.  Pietro  in 
Vincoli  (as  he  is  commonly  styled  in  contemporary  documents)  helped 
to  give  to  the  expedition  something  of  the  semblance  of  a  war 
waged  in  the  cause  of  religion  and  of  the  Church.  He  was  the 
chief  among  a  number  of  the  cardinals  who  more  or  less  avowedly 
entertained  hopes  of  securing  the  deposition  of  Alexander  on  the 
ground  of  his  simoniacal  election,  and  who  at  least  professed  a 
desire  to  bring  about  the  reformation  of  the  Church  by  means  of  a 
general  Council.  To  the  Cardinal  della  Rovere  it  was  perhaps 
principally  due  that  the  invader  displayed  on  his  standards  the 
legends  :  "  Voluntas  Dei "  and  :  "  Missus  a  Deo."  And  a  letter/rom 
Stefano  Taverna  to  Sforza  shows  that  the  usurper  of  Milan  well 
understood  the  value  of  the  Cardinal's  help  as  giving  respectability 
and  even  a  certain  dignity  to  the  expedition.*  But  while  these  two 
men  were  the  prime  movers  of  the  scheme,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted 
that  Fra  (lirolamo  likewise  contributed,  though  in  a  subordinate 
degree,  if  not  to  the  first  bringing  on,  at  least  to  the  furtherance  of 
the  invasion.  To  be  hailed  as  the  Cyrus  who  was  to  do  the  Lord's 
work  in  Italy  was  unquestionably  calculated  to  remove  the  vacil- 
lating indecision   which  so  long  held  back  the   king  from  entering 

'  Commines,  Memoirs,  book  vii.  cli.  i.  ;  Eng.  Irans.  ii.  96. 
^  Commines,  ibid.,  p.  98. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  1 02,  107. 

*  Pastor,  V.  423  sqq. ,  544. 


122  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

seriously  upon  his  undertaking.  And  if  it  be  contended  on  the 
one  hand,  and  conceded  on  the  other,  that  Charles  probably  never 
even  heard  of  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  predictions  until  he  had 
already  set  foot  in  Italy,  he  at  least  had  not  been  long  there 
before  he  received,  at  the  hands  of  the  Florentine  prophet,  the 
most  explicit  assurances  that  God  would  be  with  him  in  his 
enterprise.^ 

As  regards  the  actual  designs  and  motives  of  Charles  VIII.,  whose 
programme  included  the  recovery  of  Jerusalem  and  the  conquest  of 
the  Turks,  there  is  perhaps  room  for  some  difference  of  opinion. 
Pastor  writes :  "  It  is  ditificult  to  believe  that  he  could  have  enter- 
tained any  serious  hopes  of  conquering  Jerusalem  in  the  course  of 
his  intended  expedition  against  the  Turks."  ^  Ranke,  on  the  other 
hand,  represents  him  as  thoroughly  in  earnest  about  the  scheme  for 
the  deposition  of  the  Popc.^  But  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  gauge 
the  real  mind  of  a  man  so  thoroughly  under  the  influence  of  imagina- 
tion, and  so  little  capable  of  any  sustained  effort.  The  larger 
schemes  no  doubt  served  to  feed  his  ambition,  and  to  persuade  him 
that  in  its  gratification  he  was  doing  a  great  work. 

How  it  came  about  that  Fra  Girolamo  had  several  interviews  with 
the  French  King  must  now  be  explained.  Piero  de'  Medici  had,  on  the 
very  eve  of  the  invasion,  gone  out  of  his  way  to  make  an  ostentatious 
display  of  his  disposition  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Alfonso  of  Naples. 
While  the  French  envoys  were  actually  in  Florence,  endeavouring  to 
obtain  the  consent  of  the  Signory  to  the  passage  of  the  invading 
army  ("  chiedendo  el  passo  "),  Piero  paid  a  visit  of  ceremony  to  the 
Duke  of  Calabria,  the  son  and  heir  of  Alfonso — a  foolish  course  to 
adopt  unless  he  was  sure  of  the  support  of  the  Signory  and  of  the 
people  in  the  resistance  which  he  proposed  to  offer  to  Charles  VI 11.^ 
But  this  support  altogether  failed  him.  There  was  a  strong  party 
in    Florence  (perhaps   not   altogether  uninfluenced  by  Savonarola's 

1  The  letters  which  he  wrote  after  the  conquest  of  Naples,  and  to  which,  as 
has  been  seen,  the  Sienese  and  Ferrarese  diarists  refer,  show  how  thoroughly  he 
was  imbued  with  the  ideas  impressed  upon  him  by  Fra  Girolamo. 

2  Pastor,  V.  453. 

3  Ranke,  Historisch-lnographische  Studien,  p.  233. 

^  "  E  a  di  5  d'  agosto  1494,  ando  Piero  de'  Medici  incontro  al  Duca  di  Calavria 
in  quello  d'  Arezzo,  a  vicitarlo,  come  si  va  a  vicitare  un  gran  maestro,  un  signore. 
Essendo  in  Firenze  gl'  inbasciadori  del  Re  di  Francia,  e  chitdendo  el  passo  .  .  . 
e  inteiidendo  questa  andata  di  Piero,  presono  sospetto,"  etc.  (Landucci,  Dtario, 
p.  69). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  123 

preaching)  which  was  in  favour  of  maintaining  friendly  relations  with 
France  ;  and  Piero's  appeal  for  efTicient  help  towards  putting  the 
city  and  its  possessions  in  a  state  of  defence  proved  entirely  futile.^ 
Besides  which  he  found,  to  his  alarm,  that  on  other  grounds  also  his 
personal  influence  was  greatly  on  the  wane.  Under  these  circum- 
stances he  rather  suddenly  changed  his  plans.  He  set  out  from 
Florence  at  the  head  of  an  embassy  of  distinguished  citizens  to  greet 
the  French  king  ;  but  the  embassy  had  hardly  left  the  city  when, 
with  a  few  personal  friends,  he  left  the  company  of  his  fellow  am- 
bassadors, and,  in  the  mood  to  make  any  concession  that  might  be 
demanded  of  him,  and  thinking  thus  to  secure  for  himself  person- 
ally the  support  of  Charles,  he  sought  the  royal  camp.^  That  these 
were  his  real  intentions,  and  not  merely  imaginary  motives  attributed 
to  him  by  his  enemies,  is  made  clear  by  an  extraordinary  letter  which 
he  wrote  at  this  time  to  his  secretary,  Piero  Bibbiena,  bidding  him  to 
assure  the  envoy  of  the  King  of  Naples  of  his  unalterable  attach- 
ment to  the  Angevin  dynasty,  to  excuse  his  present  action  on  the 
ground  of  extreme  necessity,  and  to  explain  that  he  hoped  to  be  able 
to  help  Alfonso  more  effectually  by  his  influence  with  Charles  VIII. 
than  he  could  do  by  attempting  to  exert  authority  over  his  fellow- 
citizens  to  force  them  to  an  open  alliance  with  Naples.  "  I  go,"  he 
writes,  "as  a  victim  tc  the  sacrifice  (trahor  ad  immolandum)."^ 
Under  these  circumstances  it  is  no  wonder  that  when  Charles  VIII. 
demanded,  as  pledges  of  the  fidelity  of  Florence,  the  temporary 
cession  of  Pisa,  Leghorn,  Sarzana,  and  Pietrasanta,  and  a  subsidy 
of  200,000  florins,  Piero  at  once  compUed  with  the  modest  request; 
himself  handing  over  the  fortresses  of  Sarzana  and  Pietrasanta,  and 

'  Nardi,  i.  26.  This  historian,  though  decidedly  hostile  to  Piero,  gives  him 
credit  for  having  made  strenuous  efforts  to  provide  for  a  war. 

^  Nardi,  i.  26,  27.  '•  Piero,"  says  Guicciardini,  "  seguitando  .  .  .  benchfe  in 
diversi  termini  e  poco  a  proposito,  I'esemplo  del  padre  Loretizo  quando  ando  a 
Napoli,  una  sera  furiosamente,  accompagnato  da  Jacopo  Gianfigliazzi,  Giannozzo 
Pucci,  e  altri  amici  suoi,  se  ne  ando  a  Serezana  a  trovare  il  re  "  {Storia  Fioreniina, 
pp.  107-8). 

3  Piero  de'  Medici  to  Bibbiena,  27lh  October  1494.  The  letter  was  first 
published  by  Fabroni,  and  has  been  reprinted  by  Gelli  in  his  edition  of  Nardi 
(i.  27).  Piero's  words  are  as  abject  as  they  could  well  be.  "Abbandonato  da 
tutti  cittadini  fiorentini  amici  et  inimici  miei,  non  mi  bastando  piu  nc  la  reputazione, 
nfe  li  denari,  ne  il  crcdito  a  sostenere  la  guerra  ...  ho  preso  per  partito,  non 
potei.do  seivire  per  le  forze  (le  quali  jam  deftceiunl)  all.i  M.  del  Sig.  Re  Alph., 
servin'a  almeno  colla  ilisperalione,  la  quale  mi  conduce  a  darmi  in  potere  del  Re  di 
Francia  senza  condilione  0  speranza  di  bene  alcuno"  etc. 


124  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

promising  the  rest.^  The  king  himself  appears  to  have  been 
surprised  at  the  alacrity  of  Piero's  submission,  and  he  despatched 
Lorenzo  Tornabuoni  to  Florence  to  enquire  whether  the  concessions 
had  been  made  with  authority.^ 

The  indignation  excited  by  the  news  thus  received  was  naturally 
very  great,  if  not  among  the  common  people,  who  were  not  yet  fully 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  political  importance,  at  least  among  the 
more  considerable  citizens,  and  in  particular  among  the  officials 
of  the  republic.  When,  however,  Villari  describes  the  populace 
as  thronging  the  streets  and  squares,  carrying  in  their  hands  the 
old  and  rusty  weapons  of  a  bygone  day,  determined  that  something 
must  be  done,  yet  quite  undetermined  what  that  something  ought  to 
be,  needing — yet  only  needing — a  leader  and  a  cry  to  give  a  definite 
action  to  their  energies,  he  draws  a  fancy  picture  which,  so  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  discover,  finds  no  support  in  contemporary  docu- 
ments.2  Had  the  case  really  been  as  he  represents  it,  we  can  hardly 
doubt  that  Fra  Girolamo,  who  precisely  at  this  juncture  commenced 
a  new  series  of  sermons  (the  discourses  on  Aggaeus)  would  have 
made  "  Peace  !  "  his  chief  watchword.  He  himself  tells  us,  in  the 
Compendium  Revelationum,  how  on  those  first  days  of  November  he 
"  spared  neither  voice  nor  lungs  "  in  his  passionate  appeals  to  the 
people,  so  that  his  exertions  had  quite  exhausted  him.*  But  the 
burden  of  his  preaching  on  those  days,  as  the  reader  of  the  sermons 

*  Nardi  {Joe.  cit.)  says  that  Piero  offered  the  fortresses  "quasi  che  spontanea- 
mente"  ;  Pitti  (p.  31)  and  Gaddi  {II Priorista ;  in  A.S.  /.,  iv.  part  ii.  p.  42)  both 
say  that  they  were  demanded  by  the  king.  But  both  agree  that  Piero  began  by 
assuring  his  majesty  that  he  was  ready  to  do  anything  that  might  be  demanded 
of  him. 

"^  "  El  Re  volendo  intendere  el  vero  se  gli  aveva  questa  comissione,  e'  venne 
qui  Lorenzo  di  Giovanni  Tornabuoni,  ch'  era  andato  col  detto  Piero  .  .  .  e  ando 
alia  Signoria,  che  gli  fusse  dato  questa  comissione  ;  e  nollo  vollono  fare.  E 
Lorenzo  un  poco  sbigottito  non  torno  in  la"  (Landucci,  p.  71). 

2  Villari,  i.  224-25.  He  gives  Nardi  as  his  authority.  But  Nardi  only  says: 
"  Queste  cose  intese  in  Fiorenza  dalla  Signoria  e  dal  populo,  diedero  universalmente 
gran  perturbatione  alia  citta  "  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  think  that  even  this  state- 
ment is  rather  exaggerated.  Gaddi  (p.  43)  speaks  of  "  ammiratione  e  dispiacere 
grande,"  and  Pitti  (p.  31)  of  "ammirazione  e  disturbo"  ;  but  both  describe  this 
stormy  feeling  as  showing  itself  mainly  in  the  official  debates  of  the  Collegio. 
Landucci,  a  man  of  the  people,  with  no  pretensions  to  political  importance,  says 
very  simply  :  "Onde  Piero  fu  un  poco  biasimato"  (}^  And  he  forthwith  hastens 
to  make  charitable  excuses  for  him  :  "  E  fcce  come  giovanetto,  e  forse  a  buon  fine, 
poiche  si  resto  amico  del  Re,  a  lalde  di  Dio"  (p.  71). 

*  Compendium  Revelulioiium,  p.  236. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH   KING  125 

on  Aggaeus  may  see  for  himself,  and  as  Savonarola  explicitly  tells  us, 
was  not  "  Peace,"  but  "  Penance."  ^  And  undoubtedly,  in  making  use 
of  the  general  alarm  to  arouse  the  people  to  a  sense  of  sin,  and  to 
move  them  to  shame  and  repentance,  he  went  to  the  very  root  of  the 
real  evil  which,  apart  from  all  political  complications,  afflicted  the 
city.  And  although  "  peace  and  union  and  charity  "  were  not,  as 
Villari  seems  to  imply,  the  leading  themes  of  his  opening  discourses, 
his  call  to  penance,  and  his  insistence  on  the  thought  that  the  course 
of  events  lay  in  the  hand  of  God,  did  much  to  predispose  the  people 
to  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  practical  political  problem  which  now 
presented  itself. 

That  Fra  Girolamo  himself  recognised  the  existence  and  the 
gravity  of  the  constitutional  crisis  is  at  least  suggested  by  a  phrase 
that  occurs  in  the  first  of  these  sermons.  "  Do  you  not  remember," 
he  asks,  "  how  often  I  have  told  you  that  God  will  renovate  His 
Church  .  .  .  and  that  the  sword  is  near  at  hand,  and  that  these 
governments  (questi  governi)  are  displeasing  to  GodV^"^  Of  course 
the  words  "  questi  governi "  refer  principally  to  the  misrule  of 
Alexander  VI.  and  his  predecessors,  but  the  form  of  the  expression 
is  such  that  it  can  hardly  be  understood  otherwise  than  as  including 
in  its  scope  the  secular  government  of  the  Italian  princes,  of  those 
"tyrants"  who  were  his  particular  aversion,  and  among  them  of 
Piero  de'  Medici. 

How  marked  was  the  effect  of  his  words  clearly  appears  from 
what  happened  within  the  next  few  days.  On  4th  November  a 
special  assembly  of  the  more  prominent  citizens  was  summoned  by 
the  Signory  to  discuss  the  crisis.^  The  debate  has  been  reported  in 
considerable  detail  by  Cerretani,  whose  account  of  it  has  been  re- 

'  "Tunc"  [i.e.  on  the  first  three  clays  of  November)  "solvenda  tantum  pane 
et  aqua  jejunia,  et  frequentes  ad  Deum  orationes  universe  populo  indixi,  saepe 
altiusexclamans  verba  ab  eodem  [revelationis]  fonte  hausta  .  ,  .  scilicet:  O  Italia 
.  .  .  O  Florentia  .  .  ,  propter  peccata  tua  venient  tibi  adversa.  O  clerica,  propter 
te  orta  est  haec  tempestas"  {Compendium  Revelationern,  loc.  cit.). 

'^  S.  I  on  Aggaeus.  With  reference  to  the  choice  of  the  Book  of  Aggaeus 
(Ilaggai)  for  exposition  at  this  time,  Villari  (i.  227)  writes:  "  Aggeo  fu  il 
profeta  che  parl6  agli  Ebrei,  usciti  appena  dalla  servitu  di  Babilonia,  incitandoli 
a  ricoslruire  il  tempio  ;  h  facile  quindi  comprendere,  perche  il  Savonarola  lo 
prendesse  allora  ad  esporre." 

*  "  Perche  la  Signoria,  facendo  incontanente  (but  really  after  an  interval  of  a 
week)  chiamare  a  se  i  piu  savi  e  prudenti  cittadini  (chiamavansi  questi  cosl  fatti 
consegli  Pratiche),  accio  che  sopra  il  ben  essere  della  repubblica  in  quel  travagli 
consigliassero  "  (Acciaioli,   Vita  di  P.  Capponi ;  A,  S.  I,  iv.  part  ii.  p.  29). 


126  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

produced,  presumably  with  fidelity,  by  Villari.^  On  such  occasions 
the  ordinary  procedure  was  that,  although  all  might  vote  for  or 
against  any  proposal  that  might  be  made  by  the  Signory,  no  one 
might  speak  unless  invited  to  do  so,  and  this  under  restrictions 
which  must  have  been  somewhat  galling  to  men  of  an  independent 
spirit.  But  on  this  eventful  day  feeling  ran  so  high  that  more  than 
one  member  of  the  council  rose  unbidden  to  speak,  and  the  aged 
Tanai  de'  Nerli  felt  himself  constrained  to  apologise  for  the  presump- 
tion of  his  own  son  in  venturing  so  to  do.  The  occasion,  however, 
was  not  one  for  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  the  discussion  was 
brought  to  a  head  when  Piero  Capponi  roundly  declared  that  Piero 
de'  Medici  was  no  longer  capable  of  ruling  the  Republic,  and  that  it 
was  time  to  have  done  with  this  "  childish  government  "  ("  ormai  e 
tempo  uscire  di  questo  governo  di  fanciulli ")?  As  a  practical  measure 
he  proposed  that  a  fresh  embassy  should  be  sent  to  Charles  VIII.  to 
deal  with  him  independently  of  Piero ;  and  that  while  the  king 
should  be  assured  of  a  friendly  welcome  to  Florence,  and  a  hand- 
some subsidy  should  be  offered  him,  efficacious  measures  should  be 
taken  to  provide  against  any  abuse  of  the  hospitality  which  they  were 
about  to  show  him.^  The  troops  in  the  pay  of  the  Republic  should 
be  concentrated  in  the  city,  and  the  citizens  should  hold  themselves 
in  readiness  to  come  forth  under  arms  in  the  event  of  any  intolerable 

^  Villari,  i.  227  sqq. 

2  This  is  confirmed  by  Acciaioli  ("Disse  quelle  vulgate  parole:  Essere  ormai 
tempo  di  uscire  di  governo  di  fanciulli  e  di  ricuperare  la  liberta,"  p.  30),  though 
Gaddi  (//  Priorista,  p.  43)  attributes  the  words  to  Jacopo  de'  Nerli.  Acciaioli 
{loc.  cit.)  adds  that,  as  they  left  the  palace,  Giovanni  Vettori  said  to  Capponi  that 
his  words  would  put  Piero  de'  Medici  in  danger  of  his  life  should  he  return  to 
Florence.  "In  that  case,"  said  Capponi,  "it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  not 
return." 

^  It  is  noteworthy  that  not  a  word  seems  to  have  been  said  about  revoking  the 
concession  made  by  Piero.  Capponi  distinctly  approved  the  offer  of  a  large 
subsidy:  "  Non  si  sia  da  noi  mancato  in  nulla  di  cio  che  e  onesto  con  questo 
Christianissimo  principe  ni  tralasciato  di  conientare  con  danari  I'avara  nattira  d^ 
Francesi"  (Villari,  loc.  cit.).  And  in  the  agreement  ultimately  made  with  the 
king,  on  25th  November,  it  is  expressly  stipulated  that  the  fortresses  (including 
Pisa,  which  in  the  meanwhile  had  revolted  from  Florence)  should  remain  in  his 
custody  during  the  war.  "  Tertio  convenerunt :  quod  civitas  Pisarum,  et  arx,  una 
cum  oppido  et  arce  Liburni,  remaneant  in  manibus  dictae  Regiae  Majestatis, 
illasque  retinere  possit  durante  sua  impresia  regni  Neapolitani.  .  .  .  Quinto 
etiam  convenerunt :  quod  civitas  Serzanae,  et  arces  dictae  civitatis,  et  Serzanilla, 
et  oppidum  Petrae  Sanctae,  remaneant  etiam  in  manibus  dictae  Regiae  Majestatis 
durante  dicta  sua  impresia."  (The  text  of  the  treaty  is  given  in  A.  S.  /. ,  i.  362 
sqq.)    The  subsidy,  however,  was  reduced  from  200,000  ducats  to  120,000. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH   KING  T27 

action  on  the  part  of  the  French.  But  above  all,  he  said  in  con- 
clusion, let  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola,  who  has  won  for  himself 
the  love  of  the  people,  be  sent  with  the  other  ambassadors.  These 
provisions  were  adopted  by  a  vote  of  the  Signory  taken  on  the  follow- 
ing day. 

At  the  urgent  solicitation  of  his  friends,  both  religious  and 
secular,  Fra  Girolamo  undertook  this  mission. ^  But  he  made  the 
journey  on  foot,  apart  from  the  other  envoys,  attended  by  two 
companions  of  his  own  Ordcr.^  Before  setting  out,  he  addressed  to 
the  people  a  moving  discourse  on  behalf  of  internal  peace.  "  The 
Lord  has  heard  your  prayers,"  he  said,  "and  has  caused  a  great 
revolution  to  end  peaceably  " ;  words  which  show  that  he,  at  least, 
clearly  understood  the  significance  of  the  recent  act  of  the  Signory 
in  disowning  the  acts  of  Picro  de'  Medici. 

"Persevere,  then,  O  people  of  Florence,  in  good  works,  persevere  in 
peace.  If  you  wish  the  Lord  to  persevere  in  His  mercy  to  yourselves,  be 
merciful  to  your  brethren,  to  your  friends,  to  your  enemies.  .  .  .  The 
Lord  saith  unto  you  .  .  .  '  I  will  have  mercy.'  Woe  to  those  who  disobey 
His  commands."  3 

He  has  himself  left  on  record  the  speech  which,  on  this  occasion, 
he  addressed  to  the  King.  It  is  in  more  than  one  respect  character- 
istic of  the  man,  and  while  we  may  and  do  admire  his  fearlessness, 
and  the  excellence  of  his  practical  advice,  it  may  be  permissible  to 
regret  the  assurance  which  he  gave  to  the  king  that  his  expedition 
was  in  accordance  with  the  divine  will. 

"Almighty  God,  in  whose  hand  is  all  power  and  royalty,  communicates 
His  goodness  to  His  creatures  in  two  ways,  viz.  by  mercy  and  by  justice. 
.  .  .  And  whereas  the  immense  goodness  of  God  has  now  for  so  many 
years  patiently  borne  with  the  sins  of  Italy,  and  has  so  long  waited  for  her 
repentance,  whereto  He  has  sweetly  called  her  by  the  voice  of  many 
of  His  servants  ;  and  whereas  she,  on  the  other  hand,  has  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  admonition  of  her  pastor,  and  has  rather  abused  the  patience 
of  God  in  her  pride,  and  has  daily  multiplied  her  crimes,  despising  the 
holy  sacrament  of  baptism  and  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  putting  on  the 
brazen  face  of  a  harlot  ;  therefore  the  Supreme  and  Omnipotent  God  has 
determined  to  proceed  by  way  of  justice,  and  to  execute  judgment  on 
her.     But  because  God  is  wont  to  temper  justice  with  mercy,  it  has 

*  *' In  quo  patres  Ordinis  nostri  et  alios  civcs  mature  consulens,  ab  omnibus 
unanimiter  ad   banc  piofectioncm  adhoi  talus  fui "  {Compendium  Kcvclationum, 

p.  237). 

'•*  Villari,  i.  231,  who  refers  to  I'arenti. 

*  S.  3  on  Aggaeus;  Villari,  loc,  cit. 


128  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

pleased  Him  to  reveal  to  one  unprofitable  servant  of  His  the  secret 
(sacramentum)  of  His  intention  to  reform  His  Church  by  means  of  a 
grievous  scourge.  This  secret  His  servant — having  learnt  the  same  by 
divine  inspiration  and  visions — began,  more  than  three  years  since,  to 
proclaim  to  the  people  of  Florence,  as  those  who  are  here  present, 
together  with  the  whole  population  of  the  city,  can  testify.  But  God, 
who  cannot  deceive,  has  brought  to  pass  everything,  down  to  the  smallest 
detail  (ad  unguem),  which  has  been  foretold  by  His  command,  so  that 
men  have  no  hesitation  in  believing  that  the  rest  of  what  has  been 
predicted  will  certainly  be  fulfilled. 

"  And  although  that  same  unprofitable  servant  never  mentioned  your 
Royal  Highness  by  name  (numquam  Tuae  Coroae  nomen  protulerit) 
since  God  did  not  so  will,  nevertheless,  it  was  you  to  whom  he  alluded 
(praedicando  circumscribebat  ac  latenter  indicabat),  and  it  was  your 
arrival  that  was  to  be  looked  for.  Accordingly,  at  last  you  have  come,  O 
King  ;  you  havft  come  as  God's  minister,  the  minister  of  His  justice, 
and  may  your  advent  have  in  every  respect  a  happy  issue.  With  joyful 
heart  and  cheerful  countenance  we  welcome  you.  Your  arrival  has  filled 
with  joy  every  servant  of  Christ,  and  every  one  who  pursues  justice, 
and  is  zealous  for  the  cause  of  holy  living  ;  for  they  hope  that  through 
your  ministry  God  will  put  down  the  proud  and  exalt  the  humble,  will 
extirpate  vice  and  magnify  virtue  .  .  .  and  will  reform  whatsoever  is  in 
need  of  reformation.  Go  forward  then  in  gladness,  in  security,  in 
triumph,  since  you  are  sent  by  Him  who  on  the  tree  of  the  Cross  vic- 
toriously won  salvation  for  us. 

"Nevertheless,  most  Christian  King,  receive  these  words  of  mine  with 
attention,  and  lay  them  to  heart.  The  unprofitable  servant,  to  whom 
this  secret  has  been  revealed,  exhorts  and  admonishes  you  in  the  name 
of  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  the  whole  court  of  heaven,  that  whereas  you  have  been 
sent  by  Christ,  you  should,  after  His  example,  everywhere  exercise  mercy. 
But  most  of  all  in  His  city  of  Florence,  which,  though  it  labours  under 
the  burden  of  many  sins,  yet  counts  among  its  members  many  servants 
of  God  of  both  sexes,  both  secular  and  religious.  For  their  sake  you 
ought  to  preserve  the  city,  to  the  end  that  with  a  more  tranquil  mind  they 
may  intercede  with  God  for  the  good  success  of  your  expedition.  And 
the  same  unprofitable  servant  exhorts  and  admonishes  you  in  God's 
name  to  use  every  effort  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  the  innocent, 
of  widows,  and  of  orphans,  and  most  especially  to  defend  the  honour  of 
those  spouses  of  Christ  who  dwell  in  convents,  lest  you  should  be  the 
occasion  of  fresh  sins.  For  if  wickedness  should  by  your  means  be 
increased,  know  that  the  power  given  to  you  from  on  high  will  be 
shattered  (infirmum  redderetur).  He  further  exhorts  you,  in  God's 
name,  to  show  yourself  ready  to  forgive  offences,  whether  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  Florence  or  of  any  one  else  ;  for  if  any  offence  has  been 
given,  it  has  been  because  men  did  not  know  that  you  had  been  sent  by 
God.      Remember,   therefore,   your   Saviour,   who,   as   He   hung    upon 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH   KING  129 

the  Cross,  mercifully  forgave  I  lis  executioners.  And  if,  O  King,  you 
observe  these  things,  God  will  augment  your  temporal  kingdom,  and  will 
everywhere  make  your  arms  victorious,  and  will  at  last  confer  upon  you 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  heaven."  ' 

Such  were  his  words  as  reported  for  us  by  himself,  and  they 
partly  justify  the  plea,  which  he  afterwards  urged  in  self-defence, 
that  his  predictions  with  regard  to  Charles  VIII.  had  been  subject 
to  conditions.  But  it  is  tolerably  obvious  that  in  the  meanwhile 
the  practical  effect  of  his  words  would  necessarily  be  to  encourage 
the  King  in  his  undertaking,  while  the  cliances  were  that  his  warning 
would  soon  be  forgotten.  It  is  no  doubt  true  that  God  can  and 
does  employ  unworthy  instruments  for  the  unconscious  working  out 
of  His  own  higher  designs. 

"There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  thefn  how  we  will." 

But  the  very  conviction  that  this  is  so,  and  that  the  ultimate 
issues  of  the  best-laid  schemes  of  politicians  are  so  entirely  hidden 
from  our  fore-view  into  the  future,  should  teach — at  least  to  those 
whose  profession  ordinarily  holds  them  aloof  from  participation  in 
such  affairs — the  lesson  of  extreme  caution,  and  of  extreme  un- 
willingness to  take  upon  themselves  the  task  of  interpreting  and 
forwarding  by  such  means  the  designs  of  God.  Of  course,  if  Fra 
Girolamo  had  received  a  genuine  revelation  to  that  effect  that 
Charles  VIII.  of  France  was  the  divinely-appointed  regenerator  of 
Italy  and  of  the  Church,  there  is  no  more  to  be  said.  In  this 
case,  he  only  did  the  bidding  of  his  Master,  and  no  human  critic 
has  a  voice  in  the  matter.  But  the  presumption,  to  say  the 
least,  appears  to  us  to  be  entirely  in  favour  of  an  explanation  by 
natural  causes  such  as  we  have  suggested.  For,  in  fact,  the  king 
did  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  to  justify  the  expectations  which 
had  been  aroused  by  the  preacher.  The  verification  of  these  pre- 
dictions of  which  "  no  iota "  was  to  fail,  was  confined  to  the  fact, 
and  the  momentary  success,  of  an  invasion  which  it  required  no  seer 
to  predict.  And  it  is  just  possible  that  the  prediction  was  one  of 
those  which  tend  to  verify  themselves  by  hastening  the  progress,  if 
not  the  inception,  of  the  events  to  which  they  refer. ^ 

'   Compendium  Revelationum,  pp.  240-42  (abridged). 

^  At  Bologna,  in  1496,  one  Raffaele  da  Firenzuola,  "cum  saepius  fabularetur 
de  reginiine  civitatis,  et  diceret  Regem  Franciae  in  Italiam  ad  castigandum 
tyrannos  iterum  adventurum,"  was  arrested,  examined  under  torture,  and 
sentenced  to  perpetual  banishment  from  ^o\o^Yi7i{Antia!es  Bononiaises  ;  Muratori, 
xxiii.  914).     The  rule  of  Giovanni  Bentivoglio  at  Bologna  was  unquestionably 

I 


130  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

From  a  purely  diplomatic  point  of  view  the  embassy  was,  as  even 
Nardi  admits,  of  little  importance.^  But  its  arrival  at  Pisa,  together 
with  the  news  which  he  received  from  his  friends  in  the  city,  made 
it  clear  to  Piero  that  he  had  lost  the  confidence  of  the  home  govern- 
ment.2  In  the  hopes,  however,  that  his  presence  on  the  spot  might 
turn  the  tide  in  his  favour,  he  hastily  returned  to  Florence  on  8th 
November,  and  entered  the  city  towards  evening  without  encounter- 
ing any  opposition.^  But  when,  on  the  following  day,  he  attempted 
to  enter  the  Palazzo  of  the  Signory  with  an  armed  force,  the  door 
was  closed  in  his  face ;  and  when  he  and  his  immediate  followers 
made  a  futile  attempt  to  raise  the  city  in  his  favour,  their  shouts  of 
"  Palle  !  Palle  ! "  (the  rallying  cry  of  the  Medici)  were  drowned  by 
answering  shouts  of,  "  Popolo  e  Liberta  ! "  and  the  tumult  quickly 
assumed  proportions  so  alarming  that  Piero  sought  safety  in  a 
precipitate  flight  from  the  city.*  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
brother,  the  Cardinal  Giovanni  de'  Medici,  who  was  disguised  in 
the  habit  of  a  Franciscan  friar.^  It  is  the  opinion  of  contemporary 
writers,  by  no  means  friendly  to  the  Medici,  that,  with  a  little  firm- 
ness and  tact,  Piero  might  still  have  held  his  own ;  but  this  was 
neither  the  first  nor  the  last  occasion  in  the  course  of  his  ignoble 
career  on  which  he  suddenly  passed  from  the  extreme  of  ill-timed 
self-assertion   to    the   opposite    extreme   of  poltroonery."     He   had 

tyrannical.     But  the  civil  government  is  after  all  entitled  to  protect  itself  against 
the  subversive  attempts  of  self-constituted  prophets. 

1  "  Si  che  ancora  che  il  Frate  parlasse  molto  efficacemente  .  .  .  questa 
ambasceria  fu  di  poco  momento  "  (Nardi,  i.  28). 

2  Nardi,  i.  31. 

'  "E  a  di  8  di  Novembre  1494,  torno  qui  in  Firenze  Piero  de'  Medici  ,  .  . 
e  quando  giunse  in  casa,  gitto  fuori  confetti  e  dette  vino  assai  al  popolo,  per 
recarsi  benivolo,  etc."  (Landucci,  Diario,  p.  74). 

*  The  stirring  events  of  that  Sunday  evening  are  graphically  described  by 
Landucci.  It  was  "while  the  bells  were  ringing  for  Vespers  "  that  Piero  attempted 
to  enter  the  Palazzo.  The  people  were  summoned  into  the  Piazza  by  the  great 
bell  of  the  Palace,  tolling  for  a  "  Parlamento."  "  In  un  momento  si  comincio  a 
gridare  in  Palazio  Popolo  e  liberta,  e  sonare  a  Parlam.ento,  e  gridare  dalle  finestre 
Popolo  e  liber/a." 

"  "El  povero  Cardinale,  giovanetto,  si  rimase  in  casa,  e  io  lo  vidi  alle  sue 
finestre  colle  mani  giunte  ginocchioni,  raccommandandosi  a  Dio.  Quando  lo  vidi 
m'  inteneri'assai.  ...  E  veduto  partire  Piero,  si  disse  che  travesti  come  frate, 
e  ancora  lui  se  n'ando  con  Dio"  (Landucci,  loc.  cit.). 

8  A  crowd  of  unarmed  citizens,  says  Nardi,  called  after  him  to  take  himself 
oflF("che  si  dovesse  andar  con  Dio").  "  Onde  ancor  che  egli  di  sua  natura  fusse 
animoso  e  gagliardo  prese  (non  so  come)  tanto  sbigottimento  (secondo  che  piacque 
a  Dio)  che  dalle  grida  di  pochi  disarmali  che  piu  con  le  parole  col  volto  e  coi  gesti  9 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  131 

hardly  left  the  city  when  a  decree  of  outlawry  against  himself  and 
the  Cardinal  was  passed  by  the  Signory,  and  after  the  fashion  of  the 
time  a  price  was  set  on  both  their  heads. ^  It  was  only  at  the  urgent 
demand  of  Charles  VIII.  himself  that  this  sentence  was  commuted, 
a  few  days  later,  to  one  of  simple  banishment.^ 

In  this  coup  d'etat  Fra  Girolamo,  who  was  not  yet  returned  from 
his  embassy,  could,  of  course,  take  no  part ;  nor  is  it  in  the  least 
likely  that  he  would  have  done  so  had  he  been  present  within  the 
city  walls.  But  after  the  event  there  could  be  no  manner  of  doubt 
as  to  his  sentiments  regarding  it.  More  than  once  he  subsequently 
referred  to  the  flight  of  Piero  as  a  deliverance  which  the  Florentines 
had  owed  to  the  special  Providence  of  God.  "  It  was  God  who 
relieved  you  of  the  presence  of  this  '  strong  man  armed,' "  he  said, 
alluding  to  the  Gospel  parable  (Luke  xi.  21  sqq>f;  "let  no  one  say, 
*  It  was  I  who  did  it ' ;  let  no  man  boast  of  it  and  say,  '  I  was  the 
cause  of  it.'  For  there  was  none  who  had  the  strength  to  overthrow 
so  great  a  power.  But  God  was  stronger  than  he  ;  He  has  deprived 
him  of  his  spoils,  and  of  his  own  property,  and  has  relieved  you 
from  his  dominion  over  you.*^  "^ 

That  the  flight  of  Piero  was  indeed  a  deliverance,  and  that  he 
ought,  on  no  account,  to  be  readmitted  to  the  city,  was  clearly  the 
prevalent  feeling  in  Florence.  Two  days  later,  the  mere  rumour  of 
an  intended  attempt  on  the  part  of  de'  Medici  to  effect  his  return 
called  forth  so  large  a  crowd,  and  so  violent  an  expression  of  popular 
feeling,  that  Landucci  regards  the  false  report  as  a  providential 
circumstance  which  gave  the  emissaries  of  the  king,  who  were 
already  in  the  city,  an  opportunity  of  seeing  for  themselves  what  the 
Florentine  people  were  capable  of  doing  in  an  emergency.*    But 

con  le  beccha  de'  cappucci,  che  altrimenti,  lo  spaventarono,  ristretto  in  mezzo  dei 
suoi  staffieri  si  parti  de  piazza,"  etc.  (Nardi,  i.  33).  The  writer  goes  on  to  tell 
how  the  governor  of  the  city  prison  was  seized,  and  all  his  prisoners  set  free ; 
and  these,  he  says,  were  the  first-fruits  of  the  liberty  which  the  city  now  regained 
after  sixty  years  of  slavery. 

^  Landucci,  p.  75. 

■•^  Articles  16-20  of  the  treaty  (^4.  S.  I.  i.  371  sqq.). 

^  Sermon  on  the  third  Sunday  in  Lent  1496. 

*  "  Mai  si  vide  simile  unione,  cosi  presto,  piccoli  e  grandi,  con  tar.te  gi  ida  Popolo 
e  liberta  .  .  .  per  tal  modo  che  fu  permesso  dal  Signore  che  si  facessi  una  tal 
pruova  di  questo  popolo,  in  questo  tenpo  pericoloso  de'  Franciosi,  che  tuttavolta 
entravano  in  Firenze  con  cattivo  animo  di  metter  Firenze  a  sacco.  E  veduto  un 
popolo  a  ordine  di  qucsta  nalura,  mancorono  di  animo  assai  "  (Landucci,  ilth 
November). 


132  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

while  public  sentiment  was  at  this  juncture  so  strongly  opposed  to 
Piero,  there  seems  to  have  been  comparatively  little  disposition  to 
execute  vengeance  on  his  former  friends  and  supporters.  The 
palace  of  the  Cardinal  de'  Medici  was  looted,  with  several  other 
houses,  and  a  very  few  of  the  more  prominent  Mediceans  were 
arrested,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  have  suffered  any  serious 
penalty ;  and  it  is  most  remarkable  that,  on  this  occasion,  hardly 
a  drop  of  blood  was  shed.^  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  the  near 
approach  of  the  French  king,  and  the  general  sense  of  alarm,  helped 
to  mitigate  the  violence  of  factious  hatred. ^  But  contemporary 
writers  are  agreed  that  it  was  to  the  influence  of  Fra  Girolamo,  far 
more  than  to  any  other  cause,  that  Florence  owed,  at  this  crisis  of 
her  affairs,  the  preservation  of  internal  peace.  And  to  his  influence 
may  probably  be  ascribed  the  generous  measure  of  amnesty,  on 
behalf  of  political  exiles,  which  was  passed  at  this  time.^ 

Nor  was  this  the  only  boon  for  which,  about  this  time,  the  city 
was  indebted  to  the  great  preacher.  Although  the  warnings  which 
he  had  addressed  to  Charles  VIII.  were  forgotten  only  too  soon 
after  his  departure  from  Florence,  it  is  fair  to  attribute  the  com- 
paratively good  behaviour  of  his  troops,  while  they  were  actually 
within  the  walls  of  Florence,  in  great  measure  at  least  to  the  im- 
pression made  upon  him  by  these  warnings.  And  when  the  pro- 
tracted sojourn  of  the  vacillating  monarch  threatened  to  be  the 
occasion  of  a  tumult,  it  was  Fra  Girolamo  who  went  to  him  once 
and  again,  and  solemnly  admonished  him  in  God's  name  to  go 
forward  upon  his  expedition,  and  to  relieve  the  Signory  of  the 
doubtful  and  dangerous  honour — or  rather  of  the  well-nigh  intolerable 

^  The  sacking  of  the  houses  and  several  arrests  are  mentioned  by  Landucci 
(9th,  loth,  and  12th  November);  but  the  only  casualty  recorded  by  him  is  the 
death  of  a  servant  of  the  governor  of  the  city  gaol,  "che  grido  Palle,"  and  a  bad 
wound  which  one  of  the  Tornabuoni  received  in  the  course  of  the  riot.  Nardi 
explicitly  says  (i.  35) :  "  Furon  dette  case  saccheggiate  interamente  senza  offesa 
d'alcuna  persona."  The  looting  was  soon  put  a  stop  to,  by  order  of  the  Signory 
(Landucci  and  Nardi,  loc.  cit. ). 

2  "  The  sense  of  tremendous  danger  .  .  .  fortunately  subdued  all  dissensions 
among  the  different  sections  of  officials,"  etc.  (Oliphant,  The  Makers  of  Florence, 
p.  282). 

3  "  E  a  di  14  (Novembre)  venerdi  entro  Lorenzo  di  Piero  Francesco  de'  Medici 
.  .  .  e  alcuni  altri  usciti  e  confinati,  perche  avevano  ribanditi  tutti  gli  usciti 
dal  trentaquattro  (1434)  in  qua"  (Landucci,  p.  76;  similarly  Nardi,  i.  35).  This 
Lorenzo  and  his  brother,  cousins  of  Piero,  were  at  enmity  with  him.  They  now 
assumed,  says  Nardi  (i.  36),  the  name  of  Popolani,  but  in  fact  became  sup- 
porters of  the  aristocratic  party. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  133 

burden— of  his  presence.^  And  so,  having  entered  the  city  on  17th 
November,  he  left  it  on  the  28ih  of  the  same  month,  to  the  intense 
reUef  of  all  parties  and  classes. 

And  here  we  may  depart  somewhat  from  the  chronological 
sequence  of  events.  Leaving  aside  for  the  moment  the  considera- 
tion of  the  internal  affairs  of  Florence,  we  may  briefly  indicate  the 
nature  of  the  subsequent  relations  of  Fra  Girolamo  with  the  French 
king,  and  his  attitude  to  the  whole  question  of  a  French  invasion. 
Charles  VIII.  had  not  been  many  months  in  Italy  before  Lodovico 
Sforza,  who,  on  the  death  of  C.iangaleazzo  had  succeeded  to  the 
Dukedom  of  Milan,  and  was  no  longer  in  any  danger  from  the  side 
of  Naples,  saw  reason  to  change  his  mind,  or  at  least  his  pohcy. 
Venice  saw  its  own  independence  threatened ;  the  young  king  of 
Naples  saw  his  opportunity  in  the  condition  of  the  French  troops, 
already  demoralised  by  their  sojourn  in  Italy ;  the  jealous  fears  of 
Spain  and  of  the  Empire  lest  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe 
should  be  disturbed  by  the  French  successes  in  Italy  were  aroused ; 
and  the  result  was  the  conclusion  of  the  "  Holy  League  "  of  3  ist  March, 
1495,  fot"  the  ostensible  purpose  of  the  protection  of  Christendom 
against  the  Turk,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the  Holy  See 
and  of  the  Empire,  but  having  for  its  more  immediate  object  the 
expulsion  of  "  the  barbarians  "  from  Italy.^  We  have  no  wish  unduly 
to  extol  the  motives  which  actuated  the  members,  and  in  particu- 
lar the  Italian  members,  of  this  "  Holy "  League.  Exalted  aims 
and  noble  actions  were  hardly  to  be  looked  for  from  men  like 
Alexander  VI.  or  Lodovico  Sforza,  or  from  the  youthful  Ferrante 
of  Naples.  Nevertheless,  the  immediate  purpose  of  the  alliance  was 
objectively  good  and  patriotic."  For,  as  Gregorovius  has  pointed 
out,  an  unique  opportunity  was  offered  to  an  united  Italy  at  this 


1  Villari,  i.  255. 

2  Pastor,  iii.  336.  "  Der  Tuikcnkiieg  war  der  Vorwand  dazu,  der  wirkliche 
in  geheimen  Arlikeln  ausgesprochene  Zweck  die  Bekiimpfung  des  franzdsischen 
Eroberers"  (Gregorovius,  vii.  369).  This  League  was  the  first  of  a  long  series 
of  similar  alliances,  having  for  their  object  the  maintenance  of  the  balance  of 
power  in  Europe,  and  it  is  with  some  justice  that  Gregorovius  writes  that  from  it 
the  history  of  modern  Europe  takes  its  commencement. 

^  Speaking  of  the  first  months  of  the  invasion,  Gregorovius  says  :  "  So  lament- 
able was  the  weakness  of  Italy  in  1494,  that  a  despot  like  Alffmso  II.  (of  Naples) 
would  have  deserved  the  pr.aise  of  having  been  its  only  patriotic  prince,  if  only 
his  motive  for  resistance  had  been  a  genuine  patriotism"  (vii.  338).  In  the 
meanwhile,  .-Alfonso  had  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son,  Kerrante  II. 


iU  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

crisis  of  her  history.''  But  Italy  was  not  united.  Florence  and 
Ferrara  stood  aloof  from  the  League  ;  and  when  a  second  invasion 
seemed  to  be  in  contemplation,  the  Pope  complained  that  the 
obstinacy  of  the  Signory  threatened  to  bring  ruin  on  the  whole 
peninsula.-  That  Florence  and  Ercole  d'Este  did  thus  stand  aloof 
was  due  in  no  small  measure  to  Fra  Girolamo.  The  ambassadors  of 
hostile  Milan  and  of  friendly  Ferrara  alike  represent  him  as  the 
principal  opponent  of  the  League ;  and  the  Bishop  of  Orvieto,  the 
Papal  envoy,  bitterly  reproaches  the  Signory  with  allowing  its  policy 
to  be  controlled  by  the  Friar  to  its  own  great  disgrace.^  Tran- 
chedino,  in  a  letter  to  Sforza  (9th  November  1496),  rather  cynically 
suggests  that  the  best  remedy  for  this  state  of  things  will  lie  in  the 
efforts  of  a  rival  preacher  (da  Ponzo)  to  convert  the  populace  to 
the  political  views  of  the  Duke  of  Milan.*  Dr  Luotto  indeed  is  at 
pains  to  show  that  Savonarola  did  not  openly  preach  against  the 
League.^  This,  in  a  sense,  is  true,  and  the  Friar's  worst  enemies 
acknowledge  that  he  abstained  from  any  explicit  declaration  on  the 
subject.*'  But  his  words,  though  guarded,  were  plain  enough  to 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  their  meaning.  The  League  was  concluded  on 
31st  March  1495,  and  was  solemnly  published  on  12th  April.  Now, 
it  was  on  I  St  April  of  that  year  that  Fra  Girolamo  communicated  to 
his  hearers  that  "Vision  of  the  Lilies"  which  has  been  already 
recorded  in  these  pages.  It  is  true  that  when  Fra  Girolamo  asked 
Our  Lady  (so  he  told  his  hearers)  whether  it  were  not  fitting  that 
the  lesser  lilies  should  combine  with  the  greater,  he  received 
no  direct  reply  to  this  question,  but  only  some  words  of  menace 
against    those    neighbours    of    Florence    who    spoke   ill    of    her.'^ 

1  Ge^chichte,  vii.  372-73. 

'^  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  20th  July  1496  (Cappelli,  n.  84).  It  would,  however, 
hardly  be  fair  to  blame  Ercole  d'Este  for  adhering  to  that  policy  of  peaceful 
neutrality  which  was  traditional  in  his  family,  and  to  which  the  Diarist  of  Fer-rara 
frequently  alludes.  E.g.  (Muratori,  xxiv.  358),  "II  Duca  di  Ferrara  in  questo 
tempo  se  ne  stava  in  Ferrara  in  santa  pace,  et  ogni  di  cavalcava  ora  ad  una  ora 
ad  un'  altra  Giesie,  ad  udire  Messa  in  canto,  et  lassava  guerrezare  a  chi  voleva. " 

2  Tranchedino  and  Somenzi  to  Sforza  (del  Lungo,  nn.  16,  19,  30)  ;  Manfredi 
to  d'Este  (Cappelli,  nn.  81,  82). 

*  Un  pari  de  frate  Mariano,  che  intendo  e  ritornato  la  et  ha  comenzato  a 
predicare  anche  lui  con  grande  concorso,  sara  meglior  mezo,  etc.  (Tranch.  to 
Sforza,  9th  November  1496;  del  Lungo,  n.  iS). 

'  Luotto,  cap.  XX. 

«  Somenzi  to  Sforza,  28lh  October  1496  (del  Lungo,  n.  16). 

'  S.  29  on  Job,  Luotto,  p.  345.     See  above,  p.  62. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  135 

But  a  Florentine  must  have  been  blind  indeed  who  did  not 
see  in  the  question  itself  an  obvious  allusion  to  the  alliance  of  the 
lilies  of  Florence  with  the  lilies  of  France ;  and  such  indeed  was 
the  interpretation  unhesitatingly  put  upon  it  at  the  time.^  True, 
Fra  Girolamo  subsequently  declared  that  the  people  had  misunder- 
stood his  vision  of  the  lilies  great  and  small.^  But  if  Savonarola  used 
language  of  the  kind  which  we  once  heard  described  as  "  so  ambigu- 
ous that  only  one  construction  could  be  put  upon  it,"  his  apologists 
must  not  be  surprised  if  it  was  then,  and  is  now,  construed  accord- 
ingly. Again,  Fra  Girolamo  might  say,  again  and  again  :  "  Florence, 
I  have  not  bidden  you  to  enter  into  any  league  except  with  Christ,"^ 
but  when  he  added  that  he  had  explained  to  them  for  their  better 
information,  "who  was  the  minister  of  Christ,"  all  the  world  knew, 
as  well  as  if  he  had  said  it  plainly,  that  he  meant  no  other  than  the 
King  of  France. •*  And  indeed  he  was,  as  we  have  seen,  ready 
enough  to  assure  the  king  himself  that,  when  he  had  spoken  of  a 
divinely-sent  deliverer,  it  was  Charles  VIII.,  and  none  other,  who 
had  been  thus  designated. 

Now,  without  entering  into  the  question  as  to  the  authority 
of  the  Pope  in  matters  purely  political,  one  may  at  least  hold  that 
Alexander  VI.  had  a  right  to  demand  that  the  pulpit  should  not 
be  employed,  and  that  the  eloquence  of  a  distinguished  preacher 
should  not  be  engaged,  in  fomenting  opposition  to  his  designs 
for  the  liberation  and  defence  of  Italy.  He  might,  of  course,  be 
mistaken  in  his  policy,  but  so  might  Fra  Girolamo  ;  and  the 
Friar's  persistent  attempt  to  enforce  his  views  by  an  appeal  to  his 
own  special  mission  from  the  Almighty  was,  on  any  hypothesis, 
fraught  with  grave  possibilities  of  danger. ^ 

The  inglorious  return  of  Charles  VIII.  from  Naples  and  Rome 
without  having  moved  a  finger  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  reforms 
which  Savonarola  had  imagined  that  he  would  effect,  might  perhaps 

^  j^.g.  by  the  chronicler  Parenti :  "Affermo  come  veduto  avea  i  gigli  insieme 
unirsi  e  del  R^  di  Francia  ed  il  nostro  "  (Gherardi,  p.  122). 

'•^  "  O  frate,  tu  hai  pur  detto :  Gigli  e  gigli.  Tu  non  lo  intendi  quello " 
(S.  19  on  Ruth,  LuoUo,  p.  348). 

'  Luotto,  pp.  346,  347. 

*  "  Bene  e  vero  che  ti  ho  detto  qualche  particolare,  <?  c^i  i  minisiro  di  CristOy 
per  illuminarti  "  (S.  13  on  the  Psnlms,  Luoito,  p.  347). 

'  "Still  more  open  to  doubt  is  the  expediency  of  raising  again  the  ghost  of 
foreign  invasion  for  purely  Florentine  ends,  or  even  in  the  cause  of  religious 
reform,  and  the  resistance  to  the  expressed  wishes  of  almost  all  Italy"  (Armstrong, 
E.H.R.,  iv.  445). 


136  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

have  warned  him  of  the  danger  of  over-confidence  in  the  genuineness 
of  his  inspiration.  The  faith  of  some  among  his  friends  and  admirers 
soon  began  to  waver.  Full  of  anxiety,  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  wrote  to 
Manfredi,  his  ambassador  at  Florence,  in  1496,  bidding  him  to 
enquire  of  Fra  Girolamo  what  was  now  to  be  thought  of  the  state  of 
affairs.  Was  it  still  to  be  believed  that  an  alliance  with  France,  or  at 
least  abstention  from  the  league  against  France,  was  in  accordance 
with  the  designs  of  God,  specially  made  known  to  the  Friar?  And 
what  were  those  to  do  who,  in  Florence  and  elsewhere,  had  lived  in 
expectation  that  the  King  of  France  would  return  to  do  the  work  of 
which  Fra  Girolamo  had  said  so  much  ?  Savonarola  replied,  through 
Manfredi,  that  Italy  was  undoubtedly  to  be  laid  waste  ("patire 
exterminio  et  gran  ruina "),  and  likewise  that  the  Church  was  un- 
doubtedly to  be  reformed ;  that  if  the  King  of  France  did  not 
undertake  a  second  expedition  this  would  be  because  such  was  the 
will  of  God ;  and  that  those  who  had  lived  in  hopes  of  his 
return  would  have  no  reason  to  regret  having  entertained  such 
hopes. ^ 

A  few  months  later  Savonarola,  consulted  by  Manfredi  on 
behalf  of  his  master  on  the  subject  of  his  relations  with  France, 
replies  that  he  will  pray  for  light.  The  result  of  this  prayer  is  a  con- 
fidential document  or  "  polizza  "  to  the  following  effect :  "  Our  friend 
[i.e.  the  French  King]  is  not  utterly  rejected  by  God  (non  h  repprobato), 
but  he  is  deceived  by  his  advisers,  and  if  he  chooses  he  may  yet  do 
great  things."  It  would  be  well  to  help  him — i.e.  in  plain  words,  to 
induce  him  once  more  to  invade  Italy — by  sending  to  him  some 
prudent  and  trustworthy  man  who  should  open  his  eyes.  Such  an 
envoy  ought  to  be  a  religious  and  prudent  man,  "  and  one  who 
believes  these  things."  "Your  faith,"  he  concludes,  "has  deserved 
that  this  secret  of  the  Lord  (!),  in  whom  alone  you  should  trust, 
should  be  made  known  to  you."  Now  it  is  of  course  impossible  to 
demonstrate,  by  any  kind  of  a  priori  argument,  that  Fra  Girolamo 
did  not  hold  a  divine  commission  to  carry  on  negotiations  of  this 
kind  with  the  princehng  of  Ferrara,  and  to  inform  him  whether 
Charles  VIII.  was  or  was  not  "repprobato."  But  this  much  we 
may  at  least  suggest,  that  before  accepting  the  hypothesis  of  divine 
inspiration,  it  were  well  at  least  to  try  whether  the  facts  are  compat- 

'  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  28th  April  1496  (C:ippelli,  n.  100).  Tiie  Dulte's  letter, 
to  wliich  this  is  a  reply,  has  not  been  preserved. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH   KING  137 

ible  with  the  simple  hypothesis  of  delusion.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
what  else,  in  substance,  Savonarola  could  have  answered  if  he  had 
become  uneasily  half  conscious  of  the  failure  of  his  predictions,  and 
at  the  same  time  had  been  instinctively  anxious  to  save  his  reputa- 
tion as  a  true  prophet.  Is  not  this,  after  all,  the  real  explanation  of 
the  matter?  Had  he  not  been  disappointed  in  his  hopes?  and  is 
not  his  correspondence  with  d'Este  only  one  among  several  instances 
occurring  in  his  life  of  the  lengths  to  which  self-deception  can 
go? 

The  reader  must  judge  for  himself  how  far  this  explanation  of  the 
matter  is  or  is  not  confirmed  by  the  subsequent  course  of  events. 
Meanwhile  when  Charles  VIII.,  on  his  return  from  his  rapid  but 
abortive  conquest  of  Naples,  once  more  approached  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Florence,  the  greatest  alarm  again  prevailed  in  the  city ; 
and  indeed  the  circumstances  were  such  as  to  justify  the  worst 
apprehensions.  Already,  while  the  king  was  still  in  Rome,  a  special 
embassy  had  been  sent  to  urge  upon  him  the  fulfilment  of  certain 
promises  embodied  in  the  treaty  of  the  previous  November,  and  to 
warn  him  that  the  Signory  and  people  of  Florence  would  on  no 
account  tolerate  the  return  of  Piero,  and  that  they  would  resist 
to  the  death  any  attempt  upon  their  liberties.^  Notwithstand- 
ing their  warning,  the  king  allowed  Piero  to  accompany  him  on  his 
march  northwards ;  and  when  this  was  known,  the  city  was  hastily 
put  in  a  state  of  defence.^  The  news  of  these  preparations,  and 
some  words  which  the  Florentine  envoys  addressed  to  him,  with 
more  perhaps  oi  republican  spirit  than  of  diplomatic  prudence,  aroused 
his  anger;  and  the  danger  of  an  open  rupture,  especially  if  he 
should  attempt  to  pass  through  Florence,  became  imminent.^  When 
Charles  had  reached  Siena,  with  Piero  still  in  his  company,  a  fresh 
embassy  was  despatched  with  commission  to  enquire  by  what  route 
his  Majesty  proposed  to  pass  through  the  Florentine  territory,  in 
order  that  the  Signory  might  make  provision  for  the  provisioning  of 
his  army.     The  king  curtly   told  them  that  he  would  go  by  what 


1  Nardi,  i.  62. 

2  Nardi,  ibid.  "  E  in  questi  d\  tuttavolta  si  forniva  d'arme  la  citta,  e  ponevasi 
a  ogni  canto  lejjni  per  potere  isbarrarc  la  citti.  Stava  ogniuno  in  grand issimo 
sospetto  e  di  mala  voglia,  perch^  si  stimava  che'l  Re  ci  volcva  male"  (Landucci, 
I2lh  June,  p.  loS). 

^  "  E  da  nostri  oratori  avendo  udite  alcune  paroU-  piu  tosto  gagliaide  che  savic, 
ne  prese  qualche  sdegno"  ^Nardi,  !pc.  c'f.). 


138  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

route  he  chose,  and  that  they  had  better  make  provision  every- 
where.'^ It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  certain  influential 
citizens  begged  Fra  Girolamo  to  use  his  good  offices  with  the 
king  ;  for  his  words,  as  they  confidently  beheved,  would  be  more 
efficacious  than  those  of  any  official  envoy.  He  undertook  the 
informal  embassy,  and  went  to  Poggibonsi,  on  the  road  to  Siena, 
to  meet  the  king.  The  account  of  his  embassy  cannot  perhaps 
be  better  given — with  the  view  of  setting  forth  his  own  ideas 
about  it — than  by  setting  before  the  reader  an  extract  from  the 
very  characteristic  sermon  which  he  preached  on  his  return. 

"  Here  I  am  once  more  among  you.  You  ask  me  :  '  Father,  have  you 
brought  us  some  good  news?'  Yes,  good  news;  I  bring  nothing  but 
good  news.  You  know  that  in  time  of  prosperity  I  brought  you  bad 
news,  and  now,  in  your  tribulation,  I  bring  nothing  but  good  news.  Good 
news  for  Florence  !  Bad  news  for  other  places  !  .  .  .  '  Oh,  but  we  want 
to  know  more,  Father.  Can  you  give  us  pardculars?'  Well,  don't  you 
think  that  it  is  a  good  piece  of  news  that  Florence  has  begun  to  return  to 
a  Christian  way  of  living  ?  For  a  good  life  is  the  truest  happiness  ;  and 
happiness  is  only  to  be  found  where  men  live  well  and  fear  God. 

"  I  have  been  yonder  in  the  camp,  which  is  like  being  in  hell  ...  Do 
not  ever  allow  yourself  to  desire  to  be  a  great  lord,  for  such  men  never 
have  an  hour  of  true  peace  and  happiness. 

"  Moreover,  don't  you  think  it  a  piece  of  good  news  that  God  has  lifted 
the  cloud  from  over  you,  and  hast  sent  it  over  others  ?  But  you  say  :  '  It 
is  we  who  have  caused  it  to  move  on.'  This  is  just  what  I  told  you  that 
you  would  say,  attributing  all  to  your  own  prudence.  But  I  tell  you  now 
that  your  prayers  have  been  the  wind  which  has  driven  away  this  cloud. 
It  is  the  hand  of  God  which  has  done  it  all  ...  '  But  we  want  to  know 
more,  Father.  You  have  been  to  the  king.  Have  you  nothing  to  tell 
us  ?'  Nay,  I  was  not  your  ambassador.  I  had  no  commission  from  the 
Signory  or  from  the  Ten,  though  I  was  asked  to  go  by  some  friends.  So, 
not  having  been  sent  by  you,  I  have  no  occasion  to  report  to  you  the 
results  of  my  embassy.  I  have  reported  it  to  Him  who  sent  me.  But  I 
will  tell  you  this  :  I  went,  and  1  sowed  good  seed,  which  in  its  time  will 
sprout  and  grow,  and  you  shall  gather  the  harvest  and  shall  eat.     '  Oh, 

1  Nardi,  i.  63-4.  Nardi  and  Landucci  differ  somewhat  in  their  view  not  so 
much  of  the  actual  facts  as  of  the  motives  at  work.  Landucci  writes  (14th  June, 
p.  108):  "  Ogniuno  pregava  Iddio  che  non  venissi  per  Firenze,  e  fumo  esalditi 
da  Dio."  Nardi  says,  on  the  other  hand :  "  Non  voile  pertanto  venire  il  re  a 
Fiorenza  per  lo  sdegno  preso,"  etc.  Pertanto!  as  if  one  of  the  objects  of  Fra 
Cjirolamo's  embassy  had  been  to  persuade  him  to  come.  This  was  not  Savonarola's 
view  when,  on  his  return,  he  invited  the  people  to  ihank  God  that  the  cloud  had 
passed  from  them  to  others  (che  Iddio  abbia  levato  il  nuvolo  d'addosso  a  te 
6  tnandatolo  addosso  ad  altri)  ;  Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta^  p.  160). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  139 

Father,  this  is  a  parable  ;  we  want  plain  words.'  Well,  tl  en,  I  will  explain 
it.'  I  went  on  your  behalf,  and  out  of  the  love  which  I  bear  to  you.  Do 
you  think  I  would  risk  my  life  were  I  not  certain  of  the  truth  of  the  things 
which  I  tell  you? 

"  I  went  to  his  Majesty,  and  I  told  him  certain  things  which  if  he  shall 
do  it  will  be  well  with  him — well  for  his  soul  and  for  his  kingdom  and  for 
his  subjects.  I  told  him  that  he  must  stand  well  with  Florence,  and  act 
well  by  Florence,  and  that  if  he  would  not  do  it  for  love,  he  should  do  it 
perforce  ;  that  if  he  should  so  act  it  will  be  well  with  him,  but  woe  to  him 
if  he  does  not  so  act  ;  and  I  told  him  in  detail  (though  I  will  not  tell  you, 
for  it  is  not  fitting  that  I  should)  what  will  befall  him.  He  heard  me  with 
kindness,  and  promised  me  to  do  what  I  bade  him,  and  he  promised  it 
to  you,  and  I  tell  you  again  that  if  he  does  not  fulfil  what  he  has  promised 
per  amore,  he  shall  do  it  perforce.  And  it  is  God  Himself,  who  speaks 
in  me,  who  will  make  him  do  it.  .  .  . 

"This  I  say  in  conclusion,  that  God  has  opened  His  hand  to  this 
'barber,'  the  King  of  France,  and  has  given  him  all  that  he  wanted  in 
Italy  ;  but  if  he  fails  to  do  what  I  have  told  him,  I  tell  you,  and  I  would 
have  all  the  world  to  know,  that  God  will  withdraw  His  hand.  And  if  he 
fails  to  perform  for  the  Florentines  what  I  have  bidden  him  to  do,  never- 
theless we  shall  have  everything,  if  not  of  his  goodwill,  then  perforce. 
Meanwhile,  our  arms  must  be  prayer  and  fasting."  '■* 

In  view  of  these  words  Manfredi  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
exaggerated  when  he  wrote  to  d'Este  that  the  Friar  had  preached  a 
sermon  in  which  "  he  assured  this  people  that  everything  which  he 
had  recently  promised  and  predicted  on  their  behalf  would  un- 
doubtedly come  true  (indubitatamente  li  succederia  in  effecto),  ex- 
plaining that  he  had  found  the  king  well  disposed  to  the  city."^  But 
the  months  went  by,  and  the  expectations  which  the  preacher  had 
aroused  were  not  realised,  and  we  read,  under  date  5th  February 
1497,  that  "the  Friar  has  begun  to  preach  against  the  King  of 
France,  saying  that  he  will  come  to  grief  (che'l  capitara  male), 
because  he  has  not  carried  out  what  God  had  commanded  him,  and 
because  he  has  not  fulfilled  his  promises  to  this  people  ;  and  that 
God  has  already  punished  him  in  part  by  having  deprived  him  of 
sons,  and  by  having  made  him  lose  his  honour  and  reputation  ;  and 

1  In  the  sermon,  as  it  stands,  he  postpones  the  explanation,  and  afterwards 
returns  to  the  subject.     We  omit  the  intervening  portion. 

2  S.  22  on  the  Psalms  (\'illari  and  Casanova,  Sce/fa^  pp.  160  sqq.).  The  word 
"barber"  is  an  allusion  tu  the  "hired  razor"  of  Isaiali  vii.  20.  It  was  one  of 
Fra  Girolamo's  favourite  predictions  (and  a  remarkably  true  one)  that  God  would 
send  "  many  barbers"  into  Italy,  of  whom  Charles  VI 11.  was  only  the  first. 

*  Manfredi  to  d'Eslc,  22nd  June  I495  (Cappelli,  n.  77). 


140  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

that  perhaps  he  will  cause  him  to  lose  his  kingdom  and  his  life."  ^ 
Are  not  these  suspiciously  like  the  accents  of  a  disappointed  seer, 
vexed  at  the  failure  of  his  own  predictions,  and  hiding  his  vexation — 
from  himself  if  not  from  others — under  cover  of  fresh  menaces 
against  the  author  of  his  disappointment  ? 

And  what  are  these  royal  promises,  the  non-fulfilment  of  which 
was  declared  to  have  brought  down  the  anger  of  God  upon  the  head 
of  Charles  VIII.?  One  of  the  first  results  of  the  French  invasion 
had  been  the  revolt  of  Pisa  from  the  dominion  of  Florence.  Now 
the  conquest  of  Pisa  was  one  of  the  reputed  glories  of  Florentine 
history  ;  and  it  was  very  natural  that  its  threatened  loss  should  be 
deeply  resented,  and  that  the  Republic  should  have  negotiated  with 
Charles  to  induce  him  to  bring  it  once  more  into  subjection,  in  con- 
sideration of  a  goodly  subsidy,  which  was  in  fact  duly  paid  in  sundry 
instalments.  On  the  other  hand,  the  citizens  of  Pisa  no  doubt 
esteemed  the  boon  of  independence  no  less  than  the  citizens  of 
Florence,  and  the  revolt  of  Pisa  was  an  incident  of  somewhat  similar 
character,  as  it  precisely  coincided  in  time,  with  the  expulsion  of 
the  Medici  from  Florence.^  Nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that 
rather  than  allow  themselves  to  be  sold — as  they  conceived  it — to 
the  Florentine  Signory,  the  Pisans  should  have  preferred  to  accept  the 
protection  of  Venice,  or  some  other  powerful  neighbour.  What  the 
rights  and  the  wrongs  of  the  quarrel  between  the  two  cities  may  have 
been  we  do  not  pretend  to  say ;  but  common  sense  would  at  least 
suggest  the  extreme  improbability  that  a  local  dispute  of  this  nature 

1  Sommario  di  lettere  da  Firenze  (Cappelli,  n.  96).  The  faithlessness  of 
Charles  VIII.,  and  the  indignation  excited  by  his  repeated  failure  to  perform  his 
promises,  are  frequently  referred  to  in  Landucci's  Diary. 

2  "The  new  Republic  of  Florence  had  soon  to  face  the  fact  that  revolutions  do 
not  come  singly.  The  news  was  brought,  that  on  the  same  day  on  which  Florence 
expelled  the  Medici,  Pisa  had  revolted  from  the  Florentine  yoke"  (Creighton,  iii. 
189).  This  was  one  of  several  coincidences  connected  in  various  ways  with  the 
life  of  Savonarola,  which  marked  the  closing  years  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
Another  was  the  death  of  Fra  Girolamo's  friend,  Giovanni  Pico  della  Mirandola, 
on  the  very  day  on  which  Charles  VIII.  entered  Florence.  A  third  was  the 
murder  of  the  Duke  of  Gandia  (son  of  Alexander  VI.)  within  a  day  or  two  of  the 
publication  of  Savonarola's  excommunication  at  Florence,  and  a  fourth  was  the 
death  of  Charles  VIII.  only  a  few  weeks  before  that  of  Fra  Girolamo  himself. 
Nor  was  Pisa  the  only  town  which  revolted  from  Florence  at  this  time.  The 
little  city  of  Montepulciano  took  the  opportunity  to  transfer  its  allegiance  to 
Siena,  and  it  must  be  supposed  that  Montepulciano  was  likewise  included  in  the 
things  which  were  to  be  restored  to  Florence.  Needless  to  say,  Charles  VIII. 
never  restored  Pisa. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  141 

should  have  hccn  the  subject  of  divine  communications  to  Fra 
Girolamo  or  to  any  one  else.  Savonarola  himself,  however,  betrayed 
no  misgivings  on  the  point.  That  Pisa  should  be  again  brought 
into  subjection  to  Florence  was  part  of  the  scheme  of  Providence  as 
conceived  by  him.  According  to  his  prophetic  gosi)el,  God  was 
deeply  concerned  about  the  liberties  of  Florence.  The  liberties  of 
Pisa  were,  it  would  seem,  a  matter  of  quite  secondary  importance. 
And  so  we  find  this  apostle  of  civic  freedom  pleading  with  Charles 
VIII.  at  Poggibonsi  for  the  restoration  of  the  lesser  city  to  the 
obedience  of  the  greater.  And  when,  on  his  return  after  the  embassy, 
he  told  the  Florentine  people  that  they  should  "  have  everything  " 
from  the  French  King,  either  per  amore  or  by  force,  no  one  could 
doubt  that  "  everything "  included  Pisa,  and  the  contemporary 
chronicler  Parenti  can  hardly  be  blamed  if — giving  the  sense  rather 
than  the  actual  words  of  the  preacher — he  declares  that  Fra 
Girolamo  promised  his  hearers  that  Pisa  should  be  restored.  Surely 
this  was  a  matter  which  the  Friar-ambassador  might  have  left  to  be 
dealt  with  by  secular  politicians.  And  surely  the  plain  truth  is  this, 
that  as  Fra  Girolamo  was  deluded  about  himself  and  his  own 
supposed  divine  mission,  so  he  was  also  deluded  about  the  im- 
portance of  Florence  in  relation  to  the  divine  designs.  The  two 
forms  of  delusion  were  of  a  piece  ;  and  his  flattery  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  harmonised  well  with  his  own  unconscious  self-flattery.  It 
may  indeed  seem  strange  to  speak  of  him  as  flattering  a  people  whose 
vices  he  lashed  with  the  unsparing  scourge  of  the  most  terrible  in- 
vective, but  the  preference  so  frankly  given  to  Florence  over  Pisa 
as  a  special  object  of  Divine  Providence  was  flattery  enough  for  a 
people  whose  pride  assuredly  needed  no  encouragement. 

Our  account,  however,  of  the  relations  between  Savonarola  and 
Charles  VIII.  would  be  manifestly  incomplete  were  we  to  leave  out 
of  account  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  the  king.  Of  these,  five 
have  been  preserved,  one  of  which,  however,  as  belonging  to  the 
closing  months  of  his  life,  must  be  reserved  for  consideration  here- 
after. Of  the  other  four,  one  is  of  considerable  length,  but  is  so 
entirely  characteristic  of  the  writer  that  it  seems  well  to  set  forth  its 
contents  at  some  length  : — 

2bth  May  1495  ;  Savonarola  to  Charles  VIII.'— The  love  of  God  and 
zeal  for  His  honour  constrains  me  to  love  your  Majesty  (tua  Corona) 

^  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  xcvii.  sqq.     The  king  was  at  this  time  in  Rome. 


142  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

and  this  all  the  more  because  I  am  assured  (son  certo)  that  among  all 
other  Christian  princes  God  has  made  choice  of  you  for  the  carrying  out 
of  this  mystery  of  the  renovation  of  the  Church,  of  which  a  beginning  has 
already  been  made.^  I  write,  then,  to  admonish  you  of  what  is  necessary 
for  your  salvation.  For  it  is  God's  will  that  for  the  attainment  of  this  end 
(viz.  salvation)  men  should  use  the  appropriate  means  ;  and  so  you,  in 
particular,  having  been  chosen  by  God  to  do  a  great  work,  must  adopt 
suitable  means  for  carrying  it  into  execution.  I  remind  you,  then,  that  it 
was  God  Himself  who  in  time  past  enlightened  me  concerning  your 
arrival  in  Italy,  and  concerning  the  victory  which  you  have  gained  ;  and 
on  His  part  I  declare  to  you  that  if  you  do  not  take  measures  to  secure 
that  your  barons  and  ministers  should  act  otherwise  than  as  they  have 
hitherto  done,  God  will  withdraw  His  hand,  and  will  cause  the  people  to 
rebel  against  you,  and  will  bring  you  into  great  tribulations,  and  you  and 
your  army  will  incur  the  gravest  danger.  For  it  is  not  enough,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  that  you  should  yourself  be  of  good  will,  and  should  abstain 
from  evil  doing  ;  but  it  is  your  duty  to  correct  and  restrain  your  subjects 
from  oppressing  the  people  and  cities  (of  Italy)  and  from  extortionate 
practices.  Remember  the  example  of  Saul,  who,  having  been  chosen  by 
God,  was  afterwards  rejected  by  Him.  I  warn  you  on  the  part  of  God 
Himself  not  to  treat  the  Florentine  people  so.  And  I  give  you  this  warn- 
ing, not  principally  for  their  sake — for  I  am  a  stranger  among  them — but 
for  your  own  good,  and  for  the  honour  of  God. 

If  you  had  acted  in  accordance  with  the  words  which  I  addressed  to 
you  just  before  your  departure  for  Florence,  all  would  have  been  well 
with  you,  and  the  people  would  now  be  crying  out  :  "  Blessed  is  he  that 
Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Know,  then,  most  Christian  king,  that 
it  is  God's  will  that  the  Florentines  should  be  well  treated  by  you, 
especially  in  view  of  the  treaty  to  which  you  have  sworn.  Remember 
what  God  said  of  Sedecias,  who  violated  his  treaty  with  the  heathen  king 
Nabuchodonosor  :  "  Qui  dissolvit  pactum,  numquid  effugiet,"  etc. 

Remember  what  I  have  heretofore  declared  to  you  by  word  of  mouth, 
and  in  writing,  viz.  that  the  people  of  Florence  are  most  loyal  to  you,  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  number  who,  in  spite  of  the  will  of  the  majority, 
have  pursued  an  opposite  policy.^  Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  that  are 
being  made  to  detach  them  from  you  they  remain  faithful,  and  this  is 
mainly  the  result  of  our  preaching? 

It  would  be  well  for  you  if  you  would  seek  the  good  of  the  city,  and 
not  that  of  any  private  citizen,  for  such  men  seek  their  own  advantage, 

^  This  beginning  of  the  renovation  of  the  Church  was,  of  course,  the  reform 
effected  at  Florence  itself. 

^  I.e.  Piero  de'  Medici  and  his  friends. 

2  "Tenelo  {i.e.  11  popolo)  disposto,  a  queJ  che  si  dice,  alia  volta  di  Franza, 
dimostrandogli  che  questo  Re  christianissimo  omnino  habbia  a  reformare  la  Chiesa 
et  essere  victoriorissimo  in  questa  sua  impresa,"etc.  (Manfredi  tod'Este,  i8th  May 
1495  ;  Cappelli,  n.  54). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  THE  FRENCH  KING  I43 

and  not  yours,  and  they  would  be  the  first  to  desert  you  if  the  occasion 
should  offer.'  Remember  how,  whereas  you  have  shown  no  si},'n  of 
favour  or  love  to  the  city,  and  whereas  others  have  striven  to  bribe  her  to 
oppose  you,  she  has  stood  firm  in  her  loyalty,  and  will  continue  so  to 
stand  -with  ihe  help  of  our  preaching  and  exhortations.  It  is  God's  will 
that  we  should  hold  to  our  alliance  with  you,  and  you  with  us,  and  that 
under  your  protection  her  liberty  and  dominion  (liberta  et  signoria)  should 
prosper  and  flourish.  For  the  divine  goodness  had  determined  to  put 
down  those  tyrants  and  private  citizens  who  seek  to  usurp  authority  over 
her,  as  they  have  done  in  the  past  ;  for  this  new  and  popular  government 
has  been  established  by  God,  and  not  by  man,  and  therefore  He  wills  that 
it  should  prosper!' 

Once  more,  then,  I  warn  you  that  if  you  do  not  act  as  I  have  said,  God 
will  send  you  such  tribulations  that  you  will  be  forced  to  do  what  of  your 
own  good-will  you  have  not  hitherto  chosen  to  do.  And  the  reason  is, 
because  God  has  chosen  this  city,  and  has  filled  her  with  His  servants,  and 
has  determined  to  magnify  her  and  raise  her  up,  and  whoso  toucheth  her 
toucheth  the  apple  of  His  eye? 

All  this  I  have  written  in  the  name,  and  at  the  bidding,  and  under  the 
enlightenment  of  God.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  otherwise  advised. 
For  what  I  have  written  is  as  true  as  the  Gospel,  and  any  opposite  counsel 
is  to  your  hurt. 

That  Savonarola  was  the  chosen  prophet  of  God,  Charles,  His 
chosen  king,  and  Florence  His  chosen  people,  these  are  the  three 
notes  which,  like  a  fundamental  chord  in  music,  dominate  the  whole 
of  his  utterances  at  this  time.  But  they  nowhere  make  themselves 
so  plainly  heard  as  in  the  Friar's  addresses  and  letters  to  the  king. 

The  other  three  letters  to  which  we  have  referred  are  undated, 
but  belong  to  a  somewhat  later  period  than  the  one  which  has  been 
given  above.  Omitting  wearisome  repetitions,  their  purport  is  briefly 
as  follows  : — 

I.  It  was  God  who  brought  you  to  Italy,  and  it  is  He  who  has  brought 
you  safely  back  to  your  own  country.     Having  experienced  the  truth  of 

^  Again  he  alludes  to  Piero  who,  it  may  be  remembered,  was  at  this  time  with 
the  king. 

"  "  E  a  dl  prime  d'aprile  1495,  predico  frate  Girolamo,  e  disse  e  testifico  come 
la  Vergine  Maria  gli  aveva  rivelato  come  la  citta  di  Firenze  avcva  ad  essere  la  piu 
groriosa  {sic),  la  piu  ricca,  la  piu  potente  chi  alia  fussi  mai,  dopo  moke  fatiche : 
e  promettevalo  assolutament».  E  diceva  tutte  queste  cose  come  profeta ;  e  la 
maggiore  parte  del  popolo  gli  credeva  "  (Landucci,  1st  April  1495,  P-  lOS)-  This 
is  an  outsider's  view  of  the  sermon  of  "The  Lilies."  Of  "the  new  and  popular 
government "  we  shall  have  to  speak  in  the  next  chapter. 

^  Zach.  ii.  8.  A  rather  bold  application  to  Florence  of  the  words  spoken  by 
Zechariah  of  Jerusalem. 


144  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

my  predictions,  you  ought  not  to  look  for  any  other  sign.  I  have  never 
written  to  you  but  by  His  command.  In  God's  name  I  bid  you  give  back 
to  Florence  what  belongs  to  her  [t.e.  especially  Pisa].  It  is  because  you 
have  not  done  so  that  misfortune  has  overtaken  you.  But  God  is  more 
prone  to  mercy  than  to  justice.  Therefore,  if  through  evil-doing  you  have 
suffered,  much  more  may  you  hope  to  prosper  by  doing  what  is  right. 

2.  God  illuminates  the  hierarchies  of  angels  in  such  a  way  that  the 
lower  choirs,  or  orders,  receive  their  enlightenment  from  the  higher,  and 
so  downwards  in  gradation  to  men.  And  among  men  he  enlightens  the 
rest  of  the  Church  l>j  means  of  His  elect.  And  as  the  lower  ant^els  believe 
the  hio-her  .  .  .  so  He  wills  that  men  should  believe  in  His  prophets^ 
when  they  are  enlightened  by  them.  Those  who,  with  simplicity,  have 
thus  believed,  have  prospered  and  have  gained  life  everlasting.  Those 
who  have  not  done  so  have  been  rejected  by  God,  and  have  lost  not  only 
temporal  life  and  possessions  but  also  eternal.  My  words  are  not  mine, 
but  God's. 

3.  I  greatly  regret  to  hear  of  your  troubles.  But  they  were  foretold. 
Do  not  think  that  it  is  by  your  own  prudence  that  you  have  escaped 
from  them.  If  you  do  not  mend,  I  warn  you  that  God  will  withdraw  His 
hand  from  you.  Think  well  of  my  words,  and  do  not  give  ear  to  those 
who,  seeking  their  own  interests,  advise  you  otherwise.* 


1  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  cviii.  sqq.  Dr  Schnitzer  (^H.P.B.  cxxv.  267)  is  of 
opinion  that  the  ascription  of  so  late  a  date  as  the  winter  of  1493-4  to  Savonarola's 
first  predictions  of  the  French  invasion  cannot  be  sustained.  He  calls  our 
attention  to  a  passage  in  the  "  Sermons  on  certain  Psalms  and  on  Aggaeus " 
(preached  in  November  and  December  1494)  in  which  the  Friar  says  that 
"several  years  before  there  was  any  rumour  of  these  wars,"  he  had  predicted 
"great  tribulations,"  and  that  about  two  years  previously  he  had  used  the  phrase  : 
"Ecce  gladius  Domini  super  teriam  cito  et  velociter"  (see  above,  p.  87).  But  it 
is  to  be  observed  that  general  predictions  of  this  kind  are  not  quite  the  same  thing 
as  a  definite  prophecy  of  the  coming  of  the  French  king.  The  testimonies  which 
Dr  Schnitzer  quotes  from  Maisilius  Ficinus  and  from  Guicciardini  must  be 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  Savonarola's  own  words  ;  and  it  may  confidently  be 
asserted  that  if  the  preacher  had  really  made  a  definite  announcement  several 
■years  or  even  one  year,  previously  to  the  event,  he  would  not  have  omitted  to 
mention  this  fact  when  he  was  setting  forth  his  own  claims  to  the  possession  of 
prophetic  gifts. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    FRIAR    AND    THE    FLORENTINE   CONSTITUTION 

COMPARING     Savonarola     with     S.     Philip     Neri,     Cardinal 
Capecelatro   wrote,    in    the  first  edition   of  his    life  of  that 
Saint : — 

Philip's  reformation  succeeded  better  than  Savonarola's,  and  was  more 
lasting,  because  he  kept  it  free  from  all  alloy  of  civil  or  political  reform  ; 
he  trusted  to  its  immense  indirect  influence  on  civilisation  and  govern- 
ment. Savonarola,  on  the  contrary,  combined  and  confused  the  two 
reforms,  and  thus  limited  and  retarded  both.  It  was  not  altogether  his 
fault ;  the  state  of  things  in  Florence  was  such  that  he  could  hardly  avoid 
this  combination.  .  .  .  He  deemed  himself  compelled  to  combine  and 
almost  identify  two  causes  in  their  very  nature  distinct,  and  saw  the 
cause  he  loved  perish  in  the  overthrow  of  its  ally.^ 

Whether  in  the  latest  edition  of  the  same  work  the  illustrious 
writer  has  seen  reason  to  modify  this  particular  paragraph  we  do  not 
know ;  but  to  us  at  least  it  appears  to  embody  a  fair  judgment  on 
the  case.  On  the  one  hand  Savonarola's  participation  in  the  internal 
politics  of  the  Florentine  Republic,  of  which  we  have  now  to  speak, 
was  in  some  measure  forced  upon  him.  But  while  we  recognise  this, 
it  is  right  and  reasonable,  on  the  other  hand,  to  recognise  and  to  lament 
that  his  action  was  not  in  all  respects  marked  by  that  prudent  reserve 
and  self-restraint  which  in  the  saints  of  God  is  found  to  be  not  in- 
compatible with  a  zeal  as  ardent — to  say  the  least — as  that  of  Fra 
Girolamo. 

In  his  Nineteenth  Sermon  on  Aggaeus,  preached  during  the 
Advent  of  1494,  Savonarola  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  had  drifted — but  always,  as  he  alleges,  under  divine 
guidance — into  the  troubled  waters  of  political  life. 

"  The  Lord  [he  says]  has  driven  my  barque  into  the  open  sea  .  .  .  the 
wind  drives  me  forward,  and  the  Lord  forbids  my  return.  ...    I  communed 


»  Capecelatro,  Life  of  S.  Philip  Neri  {Eng.  Trans.)  i.  261-62. 


146  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

last  night  with  the  Lord,  and  said  :  '  Pity  me,  O  Lord  ;  lead  me  back  to 
my  haven.'  '  It  is  impossible  ;  see  you  not  that  the  wind  is  contrary?' 
'I  will  preach,  if  so  I  must  ;  but  why  need  1  meddle  with  the  government 
of  Florence?'  '  If  thou  wouldst  make  Florence  a  holy  city,  thou  must 
establish  her  on  firm  foundations,  and  give  her  a  government  which 
favours  virtue.'  'But,  Lord,  I  am  not  sufificient  for  these  things.' 
'  Knowest  thou  not  that  God  chooses  the  weak  of  this  world  to  confound 
the  mighty?  Thou  art  the  instrument,  I  am  the  doer.'  Then  was  I  con- 
vinced, and  cried  :  '  Lord,  I  will  do  Thy  will  ;  but  tell  me,  what  shall  be 
my  reward?'  'Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard.'  'But  in  this  life, 
Lord?'  '  My  son,  the  servant  is  not  above  his  master.  The  Jews  made 
Me  die  on  the  Cross  ;  a  like  lot  awaits  thee.'  '  Yea,  Lord,  let  me  die 
as  Thou  didst  die  for  me.'  Then  He  said  :  'Wait  yet  awhile  ;  let  that 
be  done  which  must  be  done,  then  arm  thyself  with  courage.'"' 

These  words,  better  perhaps  than  any  others  which  we  could  quote, 
exhibit  on  the  one  hand  the  moral  greatness  of  the  man,  his  presenti- 
ment of  coming  trials,  and  his  courageous  readiness  to  face  them,  while 
on  the  other  hand  they  lay  bare  the  fundamental  flaw  of  self-decep- 
tion which,  like  a  geological  "  fault,"  runs  through  every  stratum  of 
Savonarola's  public  action  as  preacher,  as  prophet,  and  as  politician. 
For  taking  a  part,  and  even  in  some  sense  a  prominent  part,  in 
Florentine  politics  it  would,  we  think,  be  well-nigh  absurd  to  blame 
him.  The  circumstances  of  the  time  seem  to  us  to  have  demanded 
that  he  should  not  stand  altogether  aloof.  A  priest  is  not  by 
profession  a  fireman  ;  but  when  the  town  is  ablaze  he  must  hand 
the  buckets,  or  work  the  pumps,  like  any  other  citizen  ;  and  if  no  one 
is  at  hand  to  guide  the  proceedings,  he  must  give  the  needful  direc- 
tions just  as  an  officer  of  the  brigade  would  do.  The  fault  that  may 
perhaps  be  found  with  Savonarola — and  it  was  found  with  him  in 
his  own  time — is  that  he  did  not  know  where  to  stop;  that  he 
suffered  himself,  according  to  his  own  metaphor,  to  drift  too  far 
upon  the  sea  of  politics,  and  then  persuaded  himself  that  his  drifting 
was  entirely  due  to  heaven-born  tides  and  breezes  specially  designed 
by  Providence  to  shape  his  course. 

While  tracing,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  relations  between 
Savonarola  and  Charles  VIII.,  we  have  considerably  anticipated  the 
course  of  events  within  the  city  of  Florence  itself.  It  has  been 
already  seen  that  immediately  after  the  flight  of  Piero  de'  Medici 
there  had  been  a  remarkable  abstention  from  hostile  measures 
against  those  among  the  citizens  who  were  well  known  to  have  been 

*  S.  19  on  Aggaeus  (Creighton,  History  of  the  Papacy,  iii.  219-20). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       147 

the  most  powerful  supporters  of  himself  and  of  his  father  I^renzo. 
And  while  this  wise  moderation  may  in  great  measure  be  ascribed  to 
the  influence  of  Fra  Girolamo,  it  was  also  largely  due  to  the  general 
alarm  and  excitement  caused  by  the  near  approach  of  Charles  VIII. 
But  no  sooner  had  the  invader  left  the  city  than  a  new  and  very 
grave  constitutional  crisis  arose. 

Already,  before  the  arrival  of  the  French  King,  a  large  number  of 
political  exiles  had  been  recalled,  as  has  been  said,  to  Florence. 
These  were,  for  the  most  part,  men  of  the  party  most  hostile  to  the 
Medici,  and,  being  now  re-established  in  the  city,  they  were  naturally 
disposed  to  support  any  measure  which  should  have  for  its  object 
the  expulsion  of  the  more  prominent  Mediceans,  or  even  the 
shedding  of  their  blood. ^  On  the  other  hand,  Piero  de'  Medici 
himself  was  actively  pushing  his  interests  with  Charles  VIII.,  and 
the  king's  agents  were  continually  urging  the  Signory  to  allow  him 
to  return. 2  But,  if  he  should  return,  it  was  not  merely  the  restora- 
tion of  a  now  unpopular  regime  which  was  to  be  feared,  but  the 
certainty  that  he  would  find  means  to  wreak  terrible  vengeance  on 
those  who  had  been  instrumental  in  his  expulsion,  or  who  had 
incurred  his  hatred  by  their  subsequent  action.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  would  seem  that  two  things  were  desirable  from 
the  point  of  view  of  a  true  and  enlightened  patriotism ;  on  the  one 
hand,  to  make  provision  against  the  possibility,  at  least  for  the 
present,  of  Piero's  return,  and  on  the  other  hand,  to  dissuade  the 
personal  enemies  of  Piero  from  venting  their  wrath  upon  his  former 
adherents.  And  this  latter  point  was  pre-eminently  one  which 
might  well  invite  the  most  earnest  and  strenuous  efforts  of  a 
Christian  preacher.  That  Savonarola  did  exert  himself,  and  with 
conspicuous  success,  to  this  effect  is  the  ungrudging  testimony  of 
the  historian  Guicciardini.  After  the  execution  of  one  Antonio 
di  Bernardo,  he  tells  us,  other  victims  would  surely  have  been 
sacrificed  to  gratify  political  hatred  were  it  not  that  Savonarola 
loudly  and  earnestly  proclaimed  from  the  pulpit  that  now  was  the 
time  not  for  justice  but  for  mercy  ;  and  elsewhere  he  speaks  in  the 
very  highest  terms  of  his  unsparing,  and  successful  efforts  to  preserve 

'  "  Erano  nella  citta  molti  che  arebbono  voluto  percuotere  Bernardo  del  Nero, 
Niccolo  Ridolfi,  Pier  Filippo  (Pandolfini),  messer  Agnolo  (Niccolini),  Lorenzo 
Tornabuoni,  Jacopo  Salviati,  e  gli  altri  cittadini  dello  Stato  vecchio  "  (Guicciardini, 
Storia  Fiorendna,  p.  122). 

^  Nardi,  i.  47. 


!48  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

the  people  of  Florence  from  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  factious 
vengeance.^  Nor  did  Fra  Girolamo  desist  from  his  counsels  of 
peace  until,  in  March  1495,  a  measure  of  general  amnesty  was 
finally  passed.- 

In  the  meanwhile,  however,  the  city  needed  something  more  than 
an  amnesty.  The  government  which  was  appointed  immediately 
after  the  departure  of  Charles  VIII.  was  of  a  provisional  character, 
and  it  failed  from  the  very  outset  to  command  general  confidence, 
so  that  some  measure  of  constitutional  reorganisation  became  a 
matter  of  necessity.  In  this  reorganisation  Fra  Girolamo  took,  as 
will  presently  appear,  a  very  prominent  part. 

The  Florentine  notion  of  liberty  was  not  precisely  what  we 
understand,  however  vaguely,  by  the  term.  Liberty  to  a  respectable 
citizen  of  Florence  meant  something  more  substantial  than  freedom 
from  oppressive  burdens  and  irksome  restrictions,  something  more 
than  the  mere  absence  of  positive  obstacles  calculated  to  hinder  a 
private  individual  from  aspiring,  if  he  were  so  minded,  to  take  part 
in  the  government  of  the  city.  He  wished,  not  merely  to  have  a 
vote  in  the  election  of  his  representatives,  nor  again  merely  to  be 
himself  theoretically  eligible  for  any  position  of  trust  for  which  his 

1  "Men,"  says  Guicciardini,  "like  Piero  Capponi,  and  Francesco  Valori  were 
opposed  to  vengeful  measures ;  but  so  many  influential  citizens  were  in  favour  of 
them,  and  the  turbulent  populace  (a  chi  piacciono  tutte  le  novita  e  travngli) 
were  so  strongly  inclined  to  them,  that  such  measures  would  almost  certainly  have 
been  passed  but  for  the  influence  of  Fra  Girolamo"  (pp.  121-22). 

2  The  successful  efforts  of  Fra  Girolamo  on  behalf  of  peace  and  concord  during 
the  interval  are  attested  by  Parenti,  by  the  letters  of  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  and  by 
the  Diary  of  Landucci,  the  chief  sources  of  strictly  contemporary  evidence  for  this 
period.  On  20th  December  Manfredi  writes  that  there  is  fear  of  a  commotion  in 
the  city,  but  that  "el  nostro  Fra  Hieronimo  se  affaticha  quanto  el  p6  con 
ricordi  et  opere  amorevole  ,  .  .  al  quale  e  dato  molto  credito,  ma  non  tanto 
quanto  bisognaria  da  omni  homo."  He  seeks  only  the  common  good,  union,  and 
peace  (Cappelli,  n.  29).  On  the  2ist  Landucci  refers  to  the  same  danger : 
"Tuttavolta  si  stava  in  tremore  che  non  s'accordavano  e  cittadini.  Chi  la  voleva 
lessa  e  chi  arosto,  chi  andava  secondo  el  Frate  e  chi  gli  era  contro  ;  e  se  non  fussi 
qnesto  Frate,  si  vieniva  al  sangue"  (Diario,  p.  93).  On  17th  January  :  "  Predico 
F.  Girolamo  e  molto  s'impacciava  di  questa  pace  e  unione  de'  cittadini "  (p.  97). 
Finally,  on  l6th,  iSth,  and  19th  March  he  records  how  :  "Si  praticava  la  pace  de' 
cittadini,"  and  how  the  pacificatory  measure  was  successively  passed  (i)  by  the 
Collegio,  (2)  by  the  Oltanta,  and  (3)  by  the  Consiglio  Maggiore.  "  E  disse  la  petizione 
che  non  si  riconoscessi  fatti  di  Stato  dal  dl  della  cacciata  di  Piero  di  Medici,  etc." 
(p.  103).  It  was  immediately  after  this  that  Fra  Girolamo  delivered  those  sermons 
concerning  his  embassy  to  the  Queen  of  Heaven  (25th  March  and  1st  April)  which 
mark  the'  very  flood-tide  of  his  hopes  and  aspirations  for  Florence, 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION      149 

abilities  might  fit  him.  It  was  his  ambition  to  enjoy,  in  his  own 
individual  person,  at  least  a  short  spell  of  real  office,  to  have  his 
own  individual  finger,  for  at  least  a  brief  space,  in  the  pie  of  actual 
administration.  To  compare  small  things  with  greater,  it  was  as  if 
in  some  modern  English  hamlet  it  had  come  to  be  the  understood 
thing  that  every  tradesman  in  the  place  should  have  his  turn  as  a 
member  of  the  parish  council,  and  that  every  member  of  this  body 
should  from  time  to  time  be  appointed  on  one  or  other  of  the  local 
committees.  Not  that  the  ideal  of  which  we  have  spok«n  was  ever 
fully  realised  in  Florence  ;  and  there  were  always  those  who  wished 
to  see  the  distribution  of  the  civic  offices  restricted  according  to 
their  own  notions  of  what  constituted  respectability.  But  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  might  easily  be  imagined  these  offices  were 
always  within  the  reach  of  a  relatively  large  number  of  citizens  ;  and 
the  general  desire  to  have  in  one's  time  a  turn  of  office  is  reckoned 
with  by  writers  like  Guicciardini  and  Giannotti  as  natural  to  a  free 
citizen,  and  as  a  tendency  which,  while  it  needed  to  be  kept  in 
check,  must  also  be  reckoned  with  in  any  scheme  of  civic  polity.^ 
The  recognition  on  all  hands  of  the  reasonableness,  within  limits, 
of  this  desire  accounts  for  what  to  the  modern  mind  appear  the  two 
most  remarkable  features  of  the  Florentine  constitution.  In  the  first 
place,  all  the  magistracies  changed  hands  every  few  months,  and, 
secondly,  in  most  elections  the  drawing  of  lots  formed  an  essential 
part  of  the  proceedings.^ 

The  administration  was  in  the  hands  of  a  number  of  Committees, 
or  Boards,  the  first  place  among  which  was  held  by  the  Signoria, 
consisting  of  the  Gonfaloniere  di  Giustizia,  or  Chief  Magistrate,  and 
eight  Priori  delle  Arti^  or  representatives  of  the  City  Companies,  or 
Trades,  of  whom  two  were  chosen  from  each  of  the  four  quarters  or 

^  In  any  project  of  government,  says  the  spokesman  in  one  of  Guicciardini's 
Discorsi,  two  ends  must  be  kept  in  view.  The  first  is,  that  all,  rich  and  poor, 
without  distinction,  should  equally  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  laws.  "II  secundo 
fine  .  .  .  e,  che  i  beneficii  della  Republica,  cioe  gli  onori  e  gli  utili  publici  che  ha, 
si  allarghino  in  ognuno  quanto  si  puo  e  in  modo  che  tutti  i  cittadini  ne  participino 
il  piu  che  sia  possibile  "  {Discorso  i.,  sulk  Mu/azioni,  etc.,  Opere  Incditc,  ii.  238. 
Similarly  Discorso  iii.,  p.  276  ;  cf.  Villari,  i.  241). 

''■  E.g.  under  the  reformed  constitution  the  nominations  for  the  various  magis- 
tracies were  made  by  electors  whose  names  were  drawn  by  lot.  The  voting  was  for 
or  against  the  persons  thus  nominated  (Guiccardini,  Storia  Fiorenliua,  p.  125).  In 
his  two  first  Discorsi  the  same  author  makes  two  spokesmen  debate  a  point  which 
turns  on  the  relative  preponderance  of  the  sortilege  or  of  the  majority  of  votes  in 
two  rival  schemes  of  an  elective  process. 


I50  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

districts  of  the  city.  The  Signory  was  appointed  for  a  period  of 
two  months,  and  re-election  within  certain  Hmits  of  time  was  pre- 
cluded by  law.  Its  authority  was  limited,  in  practice,  by  that  of  the 
Board  of  Ten,  the  Died  di  Liberia^  appointed  every  six  months, 
to  whom  belonged  the  administration  of  foreign  affairs,  whether  of 
war  or  of  peace.  There  was,  besides,  a  Board  of  Eight,  the  Otto  di 
Balia^  whose  function  was  the  administration  of  criminal,  and  to  a 
great  extent  of  civil  justice,  and  who  held  office  for  a  term  of  four 
months.  Along  with  the  Signory  there  sat,  as  consultative  as- 
sessors, the  sixteen  Gonfahiiicri  delle  Compagnie^  i.e.,  the  captains 
of  the  city  militia,  and  twelve  Buoni  Uoviini.,  or  Procuratori  del 
Palazzo.^  appointed  for  this  purpose.  The  sixteen  and  the  twelve, 
together  with  the  Signory,  formed  the  Collegio,  though  the 
Collegia  is  sometimes  distinguished  from  the  Signory. 

Such  a  form  of  government,  whatever  its  advantages,  un- 
questionably had  very  serious  drawbacks  ;  and  it  might  seem  as  if 
the  frequent  changes  of  administration  must  have  been  fatal  to  the 
carrying  out  of  any  consistent  line  of  policy.  Indeed  this  difficulty 
was  fully  recognised  by  some  of  the  shrewdest  politicians  of  the 
time.  A  partial  safeguard,  however,  against  the  arbitrary  use  of 
so  brief  a  tenure  of  power  lay  not  only  in  the  traditions  of  the 
past,  and  in  a  kind  of  patriotic  loyalty  to  the  city,  which  seems  to 
have  been  maintained  even  in  the  midst  of  party  strife,  but  also 
in  a  certain  practical  responsibility  to  the  elective  body.^  And 
the  history  of  Florentine  politics  is,  m  large  measure,  the  history 
of  the  various  schemes  devised  under  varying  circumstances  for 
the  establishment  of  a  satisfactory  system  of  election. ^  Behind  all 
such  schemes  and  systems  lay,  as  the  court  of  ultimate  appeal 
at  critical  moments,  the  Parlamento  or  general  assembly  of  the 
people  in  the  Piazza,  to  which  they  were  summoned  by  the 
tolling  of  the  great  bell  of  the  Palazzo.  Again  and  again  in  the 
history  of  the  republic,  from  the  old  times  of  the  Guelfs  and 
Ghibellines  downwards,  the  city  was  rent  by  factions ;  when 
matters  came  to  a  crisis  a  Parlamento  was  called  ;  dictatorial 
power — termed  Balia — was  conferred  for  a  specified  period  either  on 
the  Signory  for  the  time  being,  or  else  on  some  special  committee  of 

1  "  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  side,  when  in  power,  ruled  best.  Both  sides 
hid  a  certain  dogged  regard  for  the  city,  and  desire  to  enrich  and  adorn  and  make 
her  great"  (Oliphant,  p.  xviii.).  Again,  it  is  important,  Giiicciart.lini  urges,  that 
the  city  magistrates  shoidd  not  be  beholden  to  any  individual  or  to  any  faction, 
but  shoald  be  responsible  to  a  large  body  of  electors  (^Discorso  iii.,  pp.  268  sqq."). 

^  Guicciardini,  Storia  Fiorentina,  pp.  I,  6,  7,  14,  etc. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       151 

public  safety  nominated  by  the  victorious  faction  ;  and  then  in  virtue 
of  this  dictatorial  power  the  chiefs  of  the  vanquished  party  were 
banished,  and  new  measures  were  enacted  to  establish  what  for  the 
moment  appeared  a  more  suitable  mode  of  appointment  of  the  city 
magistrates.!     But  through  all  these  changes  the  name  and  form  of 
these  magistracies  was  maintained,  and  thus  a  very  real  continuity  is 
found  in  the  history  of  the  Florentine  republic  in  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries.     By  measures  which  it  is  not  necessary  here  to 
specify  in  detail,  Cosimo  and  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  had  contrived  so 
to  control  the  appointments  to  the  administrative  offices  of  the  State 
that  while  they  were  too  wise  to  seek  to  exclude  their  political 
opponents   from  all  share    in   the   government,   they  were  at  least 
always  assured  of  a  working  majority  on  the  Boards.     To  this  end, 
Lorenzo  had  secured,  through  the  vote  of  a  Parlamento,  that  the 
appointment  of  the  Signory  and  the  other  greater  magistracies  should 
be  in  the  hands  of  a  Council  of  Seventy,  of  whom  the  greater  number 
were  his  own  adherents.^     And  thus,  while  Cosimo  and  Lorenzo  had 
been  able  to  deal  with  the  princes  of  Italy  on  a  footing  of  equality, 
everything  had  been  done  in  the  name  of  the  Signory,  of  whom  they 
had  been  in  theory  the   deputed  spokesmen,   but,   in   reality,   the 
masters.     But  now,  after  Piero's  flight,  and  the  departure  of  Charles 
VIIL,  everything  was  in  confusion. ^     Now,  as  before,  the  continuity 
of  the  form  of  government  was  maintained  unbroken.     The  Signory 
was  still  in  office,  and  no  one  proposed  to  abolish  the  Died  di  Guerra 
e  Face,   or  the  Otio   di  Balia,  or  the  Dodici  Buonuomini,  or  the 
Gon/a/otiieri  delle    Cotnpagnie.      But    the    Setiania,    the    Medicean 
Council,  was  discredited,  and  on  2nd  December  a  Parlamento  swept 
it  away  as  a  Parlamento  had  erected  it  twenty-three  years  before.* 
In  its  place  a  committee  of  twenty  Accoppiatori  was  established,  who, 
for  a  period  of  twelve  months,  were  to  have  the  appointment  of  the 
Signory  and  the  Ten  and  the  Eight,  and  who  were,  in  particular,  to 
take  such  measures  as  might  seem  to  be  necessary  to  prevent  the 
return  of  Piero  de'  Medici.^ 

^  Instances  occurred,  for  example,  in  1393,  1433-34,  and  1458  (Guicciardini, 
loc.  (it.). 

^  Gino  Capponi,  in  A.  S.  I.,  i.  317,  where  the  text  of  the  Provision!  whereby 
the  Settanta  were  appointed,  is  given  in  full  (pp.  321)  ;  Villari,  i.  236. 

^  "  E  come  fu  partite  (il  re),  sendo  la  citta  disordinata,  si  volsono  gli  animi  a 
riformare  lo  Stato  "  (Guicciardini,  Storia  Fiorentina,  p.  120). 

*  Landucci,  p.  89. 

"  Landucci,  ibid.  ;  Guicciardini,  loc.  cit.  ;  Pitti,  p.  34.  That  they  were  ex- 
pected to  secure  the  city  against  Piero  seems  to  be  implied  by  Nardi,  i.  66. 


,52  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

The  Accoppiatori  were  chosen,  and  the  new  magistrates  were 
appointed  by  them  on  the  following  day  (3rd  December).^  It  was 
felt  that  at  least  a  first  step  had  been  taken  in  the  direction  of  good 
order  and  government,  and  that  the  occasion  was  one  for  rejoicing. 
On  Monday,  8th  December,  at  the  recommendation  of  Fra  Girolamo, 
a  public  procession  was  held  "  in  thanksgiving  to  God  for  benefits 
received."  2  But  Fra  Girolamo  himself  was  shrewd  enough  to 
perceive  that,  although  there  was  much  to  be  thankful  for,  much 
yet  remained  to  be  done;  and  his  views  on  the  situation  are  ex- 
pressed in  the  very  remarkable  sermon  which  he  preached  on  Saturday, 
6th  December.  It  is  one  of  his  most  characteristic  discourses,  and 
the  reader  will  not  fail  to  observe  the  abrupt  transitions  from  purely 
spiritual  topics  to  political  themes.  The  suddenness  of  these  transi- 
tions is  not  due  to  our  own  process  of  summarisation,  but  is  equally 
marked  in  the  full  text  of  the  sermon  as  published  : — 

'"Sing  to  the  Lord  a  new  song,  for  He  hath  wrought  wondrously' 
(Ps.  xcvii.  i).  We  have  completed  our  Ark,  and  have  entered  it,  and 
have  passed  safely  through  the  beginning  of  the  deluge.  And  now,  as 
Noe  might  have  addressed  those  who  were  with  him  in  the  Ark,  so  I  say 
to  you  that  you  owe  to  God  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude.  Now,  gratitude  is 
to  be  shown  in  three  ways.  First,  by  recognising  that  our  deliverance 
is  due  to  God  ;  secondly,  by  praising  Him  for  having  delivered  us  ; 
thirdly,  by  making  Him  some  return.  And  as  we  cannot  make  Him  a 
return  which  is  worthy  of  Him,  we  must,  at  least,  give  Him  what  He  asks 
of  us,  our  hearts'  love.     '  Son,'  He  says,  '  give  Me  thy  heart.' 

"  Moreover,  the  flood  is  not  yet  past.  It  has  only  commenced.  There- 
fore, we  must  perform  works  of  mercy  in  order  to  propitiate  God,  and 
secure  His  help  in  the  troubles  that  are  yet  to  come. 

"  Remember  that  after  the  Flood  the  world,  purified  thereby,  entered  on 
a  new  stage  of  its  history.  So,  by  means  of  this  flood,  God  desires  to 
renovate  His  Church. 

"Whoever  wishes  to  act  wisely  must  set  before  himself,  in  the  first 
place.,  the  love  of  God,  which  must  expel  self-love  and  merely  human  fears. 
Unfortunately,  many  in  our  time,  even  of  those  most  highly  placed  (i  gran 
maestri),  have  lost  the  love  of  God,  have  their  hearts  set  on  earthly 
things,  and  are  sunk  in  vice,  so  that  they  are  become  blind,  and  have  lost 
the  guidance  even  of  the  natural  light  of  reason  in  the  practical  conduct 
of  affairs,  and   so   they   have   recourse   to   astrology  and    superstitious 

^  Landucci,  p.  90. 

^  Landucci,  ibid.  Pitti  remarks  (p.  35)  that  the  common  people,  who  knew 
very  little  about  constitutional  liljerty,  imagined  that  they  had  now  gained  it, 
but  that  "  alcuni  de'  piii  savii  e  piu  affezionati  alia  repubblica "  thought 
otherwise- 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       153 

practices.     And  this  is  the  case  not  merely  with  seculars,  but  even  with 
priests  and  prelate. 

"But  do  you,  O  Florence,  seek  to  renew  your  understanding  by  having 
recourse  to  God,  and  have  no  fear  of  Cyrus  or  of  any  other  instrument  of 
His  designs.  Thank  God  for  having  preserved  you  so  far,  and  trust  Him 
to  bring  you  safely  through  all  future  troubles. 

"You  have  changed  your  form  of  government,  but  if  you  wish  your 
polity  to  endure,  you  must  change  your  manner  of  life,  you  must  sing  to 
the  Lord  '  a  new  canticle.'  The  first  thini^  that  you  must  do  is  to  pass  a 
law  which  will  secure  that  henceforth  no  one  shall  be  able  to  make  himselj 
supreme  in  the  State  (farsi  capo)  ;  otherwise  you  are  only  building  on 
sand.  .  .  But,  above  all  things,  remember  that  if  your  laws  are  to  be 
good,  they  must  be  founded  on  the  law  of  God,  for  the  observance  of 
which  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  necessary. 

"  I  have  told  you  that  whereas  God  has  prepared  a  great  and  universal 
scourge,  nevertheless,  He  loves  you,  and  wishes  you  well  :  '  Misericordia  et 
Veritas  obviaverunt  sibi,  justitia  et  paxosculatae  sunt.'  God  wishes  to  save 
you,  and  to  save  yo\x  for  Himself:  'Salvabit^/(^/dexteraejus.'  Letnoone 
imagine  that  he  can  aggrandise  himself  so  as  to  be  able  to  say, '  Florence 
is  my  city.'  Florence  is  God's  city  ;  therefore,  if  you  wish  to  consult  for  the 
welfare  of  Florence,  consult  God  first  in  prayer,  and  come  to  your  debates 
after  having  first  confessed  and  communicated.  It  has  been  said  (viz.  by 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici)  that  states  cannot  be  governed  by  paternosters,  but 
this  is  the  saying  of  a  despot,  not  of  a  true  prince.  Despots  govern  after 
this  godless  fashion,  but  their  rule  is  of  short  duration.  Live,  then,  like 
Christians,  and  come  to  the  sermons  which  will  teach  you  so  to  live. 
Whoso  will  not  hear  the  word  of  God  offends  God,  and  gives  scandal. 
Therefore,  come,  all  of  you,  and  let  the  more  distinguished  among  you  be 
the  first  to  set  a  good  example  to  the  rest.  Jf  you  be  thus  well  grounded 
in  the  fear  of  God,  He  will  give  you  grace  to  find  a  good  form  of  goveni- 
vient,  one  which  will  make  it  impossible  for  any  one  to  usurp  authority 
(inalzare  il  capo),  either  after  the  manner  of  the  Venetians  or  in  so7ne  other 
manner,  as  God  may  inspire  you.  As  for  other  measures,  which  tnay  be 
necessary  for  good  govermncnt,  and  for  the  adtninistration  of  justice,  we 
might  speak  of  them  if  it  should  please  the  citizens  that  we  should  deliver 
an  exhortation  in  the  palace} 

"  Humility,  charity,  and  simplicity— these  are  the  three  things  which  I 
must  especially  recommend  to  you.  Choose  for  your  magistrates  those 
who  show  their  humility  by  their  unwillingness  to  be  brought  forward 
(che  fuggono  lo  stato  per  umilta).  If  you  see  that  they  are  fit  for  office, 
choose  them  in  spite  of  themselves,  for  they  will  be  more  enlightened 
than  the  proud.     Choose  again,  men  who  are  truly  charitable,  and  who 

*  "  Se  e  cittadini  si  coiUenteranno  che  se  ne  faccia  qualche  esorlalione  in 
palazzo."  These  words,  in  which  Fra  Girolamo  gives  so  broad  a  hint  that  he 
would  like  to  be  invited  to  speak  his  mind  in  the  Palazzo,  have  been  omitted, 
strange  to  say,  by  Villari  and  Casanova, 


154  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

will  be  disposed  to  mitigate  the  burden  of  taxes,  etc.  And  as  for 
simplicity,  you  must  learn  to  live  more  sparingly,  and  without  so  much 
pomp  and  ceremony.  Then  you  will  become  truly  wealthy,  and  will  have 
the  means  necessary  for  the  carrying  on  of  your  wars,  and  for  the  defence 
of  the  city. 

"  Let  the  rich  give  to  the  poor  out  of  their  superfluity,  and  let  priests  set 
the  first  example.  And  you  nuns,  too,  must  contrive  to  do  without  so 
many  knick-knacks  (cosuccie).  And  to  you  poor  I  say,  if  you  wish  to  be 
helped,  be  good  and  behave  well,  and  God  will  help  you.  Do  not  accept 
alms  unless  you  be  really  in  need.  If  you  can  support  yourselves  by  work, 
you  are  bound  to  do  so,  and  to  accept  alms  when  you  can  earn  your 
livelihood  would  be  an  injustice."  ^ 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  portion  of  this  discourse  which 
seems  to  have  made  the  deepest  impression  on  men  not  specially 
interested  in  political  questions  was  the  appeal  for  alms. 

"  On  Saturday,  6th  December  [says  Landucci],  Fra  Girolamo  preached 
and  arranged  for  a  collection  on  behalf  of  the  '  poveri  vergognosi '  {i.e. 
the  '  respectable '  poor,  the  class  who  will  starve  rather  than  beg)  and  it 
was  made  in  four  churches  ...  on  the  following  day.  And  the  amount 
collected,  in  money  and  materials,  was  incredible,  with  such  love  and 
charity  did  every  one  give."^ 

On  8th  December,  in  connection  with  the  procession  above- 
mentioned,  a  second  collection  was  made,  and  it  amounted,  says 
Landucci,  to  not  less  than  that  of  the  previous  day.  On  loth 
December  Manfredi  writes  to  d'Este  an  enthusiastic  account  of  the 
popularity  which  Savonarola  enjoys,  and  of  the  immense  quantity  of 
alms,  estimated  at  six  or  seven  thousand  ducats,  which  he  has 
collected  for  the  poor : — 

"Questo  nostro  frate  Hieronimo  Savonarola  ha  tanto  credito  et  gran 
concorso  in  questa  citta,  che  e  una  stupendissima  cosa  ;  ha  facto  di  molte 
bone  proviggione  per  subvenire  alii  poverhomini  di  questa  cittk  et  contrada, 
che  molti  et  infiniti  ve  ne  sono.  Ha  trovato  elimosine  da  questi  Signori 
tra  di  danari  grani  et  altre  cose  che  ascendono  al  valore  de  cinque  on 
{sic)  sei  milia  ducati.  Lo  e  adorato  e  riverito  come  Sancto;  et  invero  le 
bone  opere  sua  li  fanno  havere  questo  bon  credito  in  questa  cittk."  ^ 

But  the  passage  in  Fra  Girolamo's  discourse  of  6th  December 
which  was  destined  to  have  the  most  enduring  and  far-reaching 
effects  was  that  in  which  he  had  hinted  at  a  revision  of  the  con- 
stitution, and  at  the  introduction  of  a  form  of  government  after  the 

1  Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta,  pp.  127  sqq. 

2  Dian'o,  p.  90.  We  have  not  translated  literally,  but  have  given  the  substance 
of  the  entry  under  6th  December. 

»  Cappelli,  n.  27. 


THE  FRIAR  AND   FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       155 

manner  of  the  Venetians.  The  ap|y(>intment  of  the  Arroppiatori  was 
of  its  nature  provisional ;  but  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  any  im- 
mediate measure  would  have  been  taken  towards  the  bringing  about 
of  a  more  radical  change,  had  it  not  been  that  the  matter  was 
warmly  taken  up  by  Pagolantonio  Soderini ;  and  Guicciardini  gives 
it  as  a  matter  of  common  report  that  it  was  Soderini's  exclusion  from 
the  Board  of  Twenty  which  prompted  him  to  move  the  question  of  a 
change  of  government  at  so  early  a  date.^  It  is  probable  that  his 
views  were  already  well  known  when  Fra  Girolamo  delivered  this 
sermon  from  which  we  have  just  quoted ;  and  the  preacher's  words 
appear  to  allude  to  the  question  as  one  which  had  already  been 
publicly  bruited.  But  if  we  may  trust  Guicciardini,  whose  account 
is  confirmed  by  Nardi,  no  definite  proposal  was  brought  before  the 
CoUegio  till  after  Savonarola  had  prepared  the  way  by  his  utterances 
in  the  pulpit.-  At  any  rate  it  is  certain  that  to  these  two  men, 
Soderini  and  Fra  Girolamo,  the  course  which  events  actually  took 
was  mainly  due. 

In  the  course  of  the  very  next  week  the  question  of  a  new 
constitution  formed  the  subject  of  protracted  but  fruitless  debates 
in  the  Palazzo ;  and  it  was  then  that  Savonarola,  in  his  famous 
thirteenth  sermon  on  Aggaeus,  delivered  on  Sunday,  14th  December, 
opened  his   mind  more  fully  on  the  subject.^     In   this  discourse, 

1  "  Maravigliossi  la  brigata  chc  in  questa  elezione  fussi  rimasto  adrieto  Paolan- 
tonio  Soderini  ...  in  modo  cbe  si  disse  poi  piihlicamenle  che  per  tiuesto  sdegno 
Paolantonio  per  niutare  lo  Stato  persuase  a  Fra  Girolamo  e  lo  adopero  per  instru- 
mento  a  predicare,  si  facessi  il  Governo  del  popolo "  (Guicciardini,  Storia 
Fiorentina,  p.  121}.  In  the  Sloria  Fioreniina  Guicciardini  writes  "  Paolantonio," 
but  elsewhere  he  uses  the  form  "  Pagolantonio,"  which  seems  to  have  been  more 
common  among  his  contemporaries. 

^  "  Comincii)  a  predicare  per  parte  di  Dio  .  .  .  che  Dio  era  quello  che  aveva 
liberato  la  citta  della  tirannide,  e  che  Dio  voleva  si  mantenessi  libera,  e  si  riducessi 
a  uno  Governo  populare  alia  Viniziana.  E  con  tanta  efficacia  .  .  .  ci  si  riscaldo 
su,  che  benche  dispiacessi  assai  a  Bernardo  Rucellai  .  .  .  e  altri  primi  del  Governo, 
pure  non  opponendosi  scopertamentc,  e  sendo  questa  opera  favorita  dalla  Signoria, 
sicomincib a  teneriie pratica  "  (Guicciardini,  Stofia  Fiorentina,  p.  1 24).  Pitti,  on  the 
other  hand  (p.  35),  declares  that  after  Soderini  had  proposed  his  plan  "in  una 
pratica  di  riforma,"  and  had  met  with  much  opposition,  he  conferred  with  Fra 
Girolamo,  and  induced  him  to  preach  in  favour  of  the  plan.  The  two  accounts 
may  be  in  a  manner  reconciled  if  we  place  the  "  pratiche  di  riforma  "  in  the  week 
which  intervened  between  Saturday,  6th  December,  and  Sunday,  14th  December. 

^  Cinozzi  (p.  20),  followed  by  Burlamacchi,  speaks  of  the  debates  as  lasting 
"  alle  cinque  e  sei  ore  di  notte,"  which  in  December  would  mean  till  10  or  il  p.m. 
and  not,  as  Mr  Horner,  Villari's  English  translator,  absurdly  renders  it,  "till  five 
or  six  in  the  morninc;." 


156  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

which  was  attended  by  the  Signory  and  all  the  magistrates,  and  to 
which  men  only  were  admitted,  he  entered  frankly  and  unreservedly 
on  the  exposition  of  a  constitutional  programme.^  He  took  for  his 
text  the  words  :  "  Receive  instruction,  ye  that  judge  the  earth  :  serve 
ye  the  Lord  with  fear"  (Ps.  ii.  lo,  ii).  The  rule  of  one  man  is 
best,  he  declared,  when  the  prince  is  good,  but  when  the  prince  is  a 
bad  man  it  is  the  worst  form  of  polity  that  could  be  devised. 
Moreover,  in  choosing  a  polity,  regard  must  be  had  to  the  character 
of  the  people  to  be  governed.  Elsewhere,  the  government  of  one 
man  might  be  for  practical  purposes  the  best,  "but  in  Italy,  and 
especially  in  Florence,  where  both  strength  and  intellect  abound, 
where  the  people  are  subtle  in  mind,  and  restless  in  spirit,  the 
government  of  one  must  become  tyrannical."  The  consequence  is 
not  quite  obvious,  but  to  Fra  Girolamo  all  is  clear.  Woe,  then  to 
Florence,  if  she  should  once  more  become  subject  to  a  tyrant ! 
"Tyrant  is  the  name  of  one  who  leads  a  wicked  life,  more  wicked 
than  all  others,  an  usurper  of  other's  rights,  a  destroyer  of  his  own 
soul  and  of  that  of  the  people  " ;  and  therefore,  the  first  thing  to  be 
done  was  to  close  the  door  once  and  for  all  time  against  a  despotism. 
Then,  adroitly  if  unconsciously  mingling  flattery  with  counsel,  the 
preacher  continued : — 

"  Purify  your  minds,  attend  to  the  common  weal,  forget  your  private 
interests  ;  and  if  by  such  a  course  you  reform  your  city,  it  will  be  rendered 
more  glorious  than  it  has  ever  yet  been.  And  you,  the  people  of 
Florence,  will  in  this  way  commence  the  reform  of  all  Italy,  and  will 
spread  your  wings  over  the  world,  bringing  reformation  to  all  nations  (!). 
Remember  that  the  Lord  has  shown  clear  signs  that  He  desires  a  reno- 
vation of  all  things,  and  that  you  are  the  people  who  have  been  elected 
to  begin  this  great  work." 

After  laying  down  the  two  principles  that  the  law  of  God  is  the 
foundation  of  all  good  government,  and  that  the  aim  of  every  polity 
should  be  the  general  good  of  all,  he  comes  at  last  to  the  practical 
point,  viz.  that  for  the  city  of  Florence  here  and  now  a  Great 
Council  "after  the  manner  of  the  Venetians,"  will  afford  the  best 
and  most  secure  basis  for  the  new  constitution. 

*  "  E  questa  mattina,  che  fu  domenica,  predico,  e  non  voile  donne  ma  uomini, 
e  voile  e  Signori,  che  non  rimase  se  none  el  Gonfaloniere  e  uno  de'  Signori  in 
Palagio,  e  fuvvi  tutti  gli  Uficj  di  Firenze  "  (Landucci,  p.  92).  On  Sunday,  21st 
December,  and  again  on  28th  December,  we  find  the  entry  "predict,  e  ancora 
non  voile  donne  "  (pp.  93,  94).  Landucci  estimates  Fra  Girolanio's  audience  on 
these  days  at  from  13,000  to  14,000  persons. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION      157 

"A  Great  Council  is  the  best  form  of  government  for  this  city,  one 
similar  to  that  in  Venice.  .  .  .  And  you  need  be  in  no  degree  ashamed  to 
imitate  it,  for  they  received  it  from  God,  from  whom  every  good  thing 
comes.  You  may  have  seen  that,  ever  since  that  government  existed  in 
Venice,  there  has  been  no  strife  or  dissension  of  any  kind  ;  it  is  im- 
possible, therefore,  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  it  is  in  accordance  with 
the  will  of  God."  ' 

Pagolantonio  Soderini,  wh®  in  the  course  of  an  embassy  to 
Venice,  had  learned  to  esteem  very  highly  the  constitution  of  that 
Republic,  was,  as  has  been  said,  the  leading  advocate  of  the  scheme 
of  a  Great  Council  after  the  Venetian  model.  The  principal 
opponent  of  the  measure  was  Guidantonio  Vespucci,  who  represented 
that  so  large  a  consultative  body,  of  which  the  majority  must 
necessarily  consist  of  men  who  had  little  or  no  practical  experience 
of  political  affairs,  would  prove  both  unwieldy  and  incompetent. 
His  own  preference  was  for  a  more  aristocratic  or  oligarchical  form 
of  polity,  a  governo  stretto  according  to  the  political  terminology  of 
the  day,  such  as  had  prevailed  in  pre-Medicean  times.-  At  the  outset, 
he  seems  to  have  had  the  support  of  a  majority  in  the  CoUegio,  for 
the  leading  families  in  Florence  were  naturally  opposed  to  a  measure 
which  would  throw  open  the  highest  magistracies  to  men  who  would 
otherwise  aspire  to  them  in  vain,  and  who,  as  they  believed,  or 
affected  to  believe,  would  surely  prove  themselves  unequal  to  the 
task  of  administration.^  But  Savonarola's  eloquent  advocacy  of  the 
Great  Council  had  made  a  deep  impression.  In  his  great  sermon 
on  the  third  Sunday  of  Advent  (14th  December),  Savonarola  had  pro- 
posed that  each  bench  of  the  magistracy  should  draw  up  a  scheme  of 
government,  and  that  these  various  schemes  should  be  laid  before 
the  CoUegio.^  This  was  done  on  19th  December,  and  the  plan 
proposed  by  the  Ten,  of  whom  Soderini  was  the  most  distinguished 

^  Villari  and  Casanova,  Seel t a,  pp.  75  sqq. 

^  The  speeches  of  Soderini  and  Vespucci  are  given  in  extenso  by  Guicciardini, 
Storia  d^ Italia,  i.  200  sqq.,  207  stj(j.  ;  ed.  Milan,  1803.  Whether  they  are  taken 
from  the  official  reports  of  a  debate,  or  are  imagined  by  Guicciardini,  we  do  not 
know.     Probably  the  latter. 

'  Speaking  of  Soderini's  proposal  Pitti  writes  (p.  34) :  "II  che  fu  aspramente 
da'  principali  cittadini  impugnato,  desiderosi  di  conservarsi  uno  stato  ristretto." 
Cinozzi  (p.  20)  represents  the  opposition  as  so  strong  that  it  seemed  certain  to  prevail. 

■•  This  is  what  was  actually  done,  as  will  appear  ;  but,  in  fact,  Savonarola's 
suggestion  was  slightly  different.  The  sixteen  Gonfalonieri  delle  Compagniewere 
each  to  draw  up  a  plan.  Four  of  these  were  to  be  selected  for  presentation  to  the 
Signory  for  a  final  choice  (Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta,  pp.  86-87). 


IS8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

member,  and  no  doubl  the  spokesman,  was  more  favourably  received 
than  any  other.  Tlie  main  provision  of  this  scheme  was  the 
appointment  of  a  Consiglio  Grande  (or  Consiglio  Maggiore,  as  it 
is  called  in  official  documents)  of  some  3000  members,  which  was 
to  be  summoned  once  a  week,  and  of  a  lesser  Council  of  Eighty, 
whose  members  were  to  be  ready  to  assemble  as  often  as  the 
Signory  should  require  their  advice.^  Savonarola  was  then  invited 
to  speak  at  the  palace,  where  he  warmly  advocated  the  adoption 
of  Soderini's  plan,  which  was  finally  carried  on  23rd  December.^ 
The  two  ancient  but  practically  inoperative  Councils  of  the 
Comnne  and  the  Popolo  were  at  the  same  time  abolished. 

The  Great  Council,  it  should  here  be  explained,  was  by  no 
means  a  purely  democratic  body.  It  was  to  consist  at  the  outset 
of  those  only  who  had  themselves  held,  or  whose  immediate 
ancestors  had  held,  either  by  actual  or  honorary  tenure,  one  of  the 
greater  magistracies.^  But  at  the  commencement  of  each  year,  its 
numbers  were  to  be  reinforced  by  the  elective  co-option  of  sixty  new 

'  Along  with  the  Ottanta  sat  the  Signory,  the  Ten,  and  other  magistrates  who 
might  be  collectively  invited.  The  whole  assembly  thus  formed  was  called  the 
Consiglio  de"  Richiesii,  whose  members  were  analogous  to  the  Pregali  of  Venice 
{cf.  Nardi,  i.  51).      On  the  Great  Council  see  also  infra^  p.  179,  note  3. 

-  "Fu  commesso  a'  Gonfalonieii,  a'  Dodici,  a'  Venti,  a'  Dieci,  agli  Otto,  che 
ognuno  ordinassi  un  modo  di  vivere  populare.  La  quale  cosa  sendo  fatta,  e 
piacendo  piu  quello  de'  Dieci,  fu  mandate  per  Fra  Girolamo,  al  quale  fu  letto 
questo  modo  ;  e  lui  avendolo  approvato  con  parole  savie  ...  si  vinse  e  approve  " 
(Guicciardini,  Storia  Fiorentina,  pp.  124-25).  It  would  seem  from  this  that  any 
proposal  for  the  establishment  or  maintenance  of  a  "  governo  stretto  "  had  already 
been  vetoed.  The  text  of  the  law  of  23rd  December  is  given  in  the  Appendix  to 
Guicciardini,  Del  Reggimento  di  Firenze^  pp.  228  sqq.  The  final  provision  for  the 
weekly  meetings  of  the  Consiglio  Maggiore  was  enacted  on  14th  May  1495  (p.  232). 

^  In  a  Florentine  eletcion  the  first  stage  was  the  selection,  by  voting  or  rotation, 
of  a  number  of  names  which  were  to  be  "imborsati,"  or  put  into  a  bag  for  the 
drawing  of  lots.  The  lots  were,  so  to  say,  "drawn  double,"  i.e.  the  number 
drawn  was  double  the  number  of  the  seats  to  be  filled.  Out  of  the  names  so 
drawn  half  were  selected  by  elective  voting.  The  man  who  actually  obtained  the 
seat  on  whaterer  Board  might  be  in  question  was  said  to  have  been  seduto  in  that 
office.  His  companion,  who  missed  the  appointment,  was  vnlulo.  He  had  been 
"seen,"  his  name  had  been  mentioned,  in  connection  with  it,  and  this  was  held 
to  be  an  honourable  distinction.  It  was  as  if  to  have  been  next  on  the  poll  to  the 
successful  candidate  at  a  parliamentary  election  were  to  entitle  the  person  so 
placed  to  some  privilege,  immunity,  or  franchise.  This  legal  fiction  seems  to  have 
originated  in  the  time  of  the  Medici.  Ambitious  parents,  says  Giannotti,  would 
strive  that  their  names,  and  the  names  of  their  sons,  might  at  least  be  "  imborsati  " 
for  the  drawing  by  lot,  so  that  when  the  election  (from  among  the  names  thus 
drawn)  was  made,  even  though  they  were  not  actually  chosen  they  might  at  least 
have  been  ''  veduti  "  (Giannotti,  Delia  Repubblica  Fiorentina.,  in  Villari,  i.  286). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       159 

members.^  Its  primary  function  was  elective.  Its  establishment 
was,  in  fact,  one  among  many  plans  which  from  time  to  time  were 
devised  for  the  purpose  of  securing  suitable  appointments  to  the 
magistracies.  But  it  was  also  to  exercise  legislative  authority.  All 
new  measures  of  importance  were  in  the  first  instance  to  be  dis- 
cussed by  the  Signory  or  the  Collegio,  then,  if  passed  by  them,  to 
be  submiilca  for  further  debate  to  the  Ottanta,  or  Consiglio  de' 
Richiesti,  and  finally  to  be  referred  for  confirmation  or  rejection 
(but  without  discussion)  to  the  Consiglio  Maggiore.- 

Of  the  fiscal  legislation  which  followed  the  laying  of  these 
foundation-stones  of  the  new  constitution  it  is  not  necessary  here  to 
speak.  But  with  the  decree  of  general  amnesty,  which  has  already 
been  mentioned,  and  which  was  not  carried  until  19th  March,  there 
was  linked  another  measure  of  which  something  must  here  be  said, 
for  it  involved  Fra  Girolamo  in  a  long  and  bitter  controversy  with  a 
rival  preacher. 

Savonarola  was  deeply  convinced  that  a  remission  of  pains  and 
penalties  to  which  men  might  be  held  liable  for  past  political  offences 
would  be  of  comparatively  little  avail  unless  provision  was  made 
against  the  abuse  of  justice  under  the  influence  of  any  sudden 
outburst  of  factious  hatred  in  the  future.  He  therefore  proposed 
that  in  all  graver  criminal  cases  an  appeal  should  lie  from  the 
sentence  passed  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  Signory  or  the  Otto 
to  the  lesser  Council  of  the  Ottanta.  This  was  called  the  law  of 
appeal  from  the  set  fave,  or  "  six  beans " ;  for  the  voting  at 
Florence  was  conducted  by  means  of  "  beans,"  and  as  the  Signoiy 
consisted  of  nine  members,  six  votes  were  always  required  for  a 
capital  sentence.-^ 

It  may  seem  strange,  at  first  sight,  that  such  a  measure  should  have 
met  with  any  kind  of  opposition,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  motives 
which  prompted  the  opposition  which  it  actually  did  encounter  were 
not   of  a   very   exalted   character.     Parenti,    who   has   left   a   very 

^  Law  of  23rd  December  in  Guicciardini,  Del  Keg.,  p.  228. 

2  An  instance  of  this  is  found  in  Landucci,  i6th,  l8th,  19th  March  1495 
("  Vinsesi  tra'  Signori  e  Colegi  ...  si  vinse  nell'  Ottanta  ...  si  vinse  nel  C.  M.," 
pp.  102-3). 

'  "  Confort6  .  .  .  perch^  ognuno  piu  sicuraniente  si  potessi  godere  il  suo  e 
allora  e  in  futurum,  e  non  fussi  in  potesth  di  set  Signori  perturbare  a  sua  pest  a  la 
citt(i,  e  cacciare  e  ammazzare  i  cittadini  a  arbitrio  low,  come  si  era  fatto  in  molti 
tempi passaii,  e  con  questo  mezzo  farsi  Grandi,  si  levassi  lanta  autorita  alle  sei 
fave,"  etc.  (Guicciardini,  Storia  Fiorentina,  p.  126). 


i6o  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

minute  and  strictly  contemporary  account  of  the  whole  progress  of 
the  affair  month  by  month,  declares  that  the  difficulty  arose  in  the 
first  instance  from  the  Signory  which  held  office  in  January  and 
February  1495.  The  measure  of  23rd  December  had  indeed  estab- 
lished the  Consiglio  Grande,  but  this  body  had  not  yet  entered 
upon  the  full  exercise  of  its  powers.  The  Accoppiatori  still  had 
the  right  of  appointing  the  Signory  until  the  termination  of  their 
own  lease  of  office,  and  the  men  whom  they  appointed  had  no  mind 
to  see  their  own  powers  curtailed.^  Their  objections  to  the  pro- 
posed measure  were,  however,  professedly  inspired  by  an  altogether 
honourable  patriotism,  and  found  considerable  support  among  the 
members  of  the  aristocratic  party  which  had  opposed  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Consiglio  Grande.  It  was  true  that  under  the  new 
regime  the  members  of  the  Signory  and  the  Eight  would  not  always 
be  men  of  distinguished  family;  but  they  would  be  always  the 
"magnificent"  Signory  and  the  "highly  respectable"  {spettabili) 
Eight.  And  it  was  alleged  that  to  allow  any  appeal  from  their 
decision  would  be  to  derogate  from  the  honour  due  to  personages 
who  in  their  representative  capacity  at  least  were  so  exalted.^ 
Another  motive,  however,  of  a  more  practical  character,  seems  to 
have  been  at  work.  The  Ottimati  were  even  more  apprehensive 
than  the  popular  party  of  the  return  of  Piero  de'  Medici,  for  on 

^  The  Gonfaloniere  appointed  for  January  and  February  was  one  Filippo 
Corbizi ;  "  il  quale  era  uomo  di  pochissima  qualita,"  says  Guicciardini.  But  he 
very  explicitly  states  that  the  appointments  for  January,  March  (Tanai  de'  Nerli) 
and  May  (Bardo  Corsi)  were  made  by  the  Accoppiatori.  Landucci,  on  the  other 
hand  {Diario,  29th  December,  p.  94),  says  that  the  Signory  for  January  were 
appointed  by  the  Great  Council.  "  E'l  primo  Gonfaloniere  fu  uno  de'  Corbizi, 
clie  non  fu  sanza  dolce  allegrezza,  parendo  un  governo  popolare  e  piu  comune." 
Guicciardini  is,  however,  more  to  be  trusted  than  Landucci  on  a  constitutional 
question.  The  appointment  of  Corbizi  was  probably  a  concession  to  popular 
feeling. 

2"Lanuova  Sig-noria,  corr.  tla  gia  dai  primi  del  reggimento,  i  qualiin  nessuno 
modo  deporre  la  grandigia  volcano^  ad  allentare  circa  al  procedere  bene  per  il 
popolo  comincio.  II  popolo,  di  gia  accortosi  di  tal  umore,  rugliava  benchfe 
occultamente,  e  a  frate  leronimo  per  aiuto  ricorreva.  Esso,  non  cessando  dallo 
animare  detto  pojwlo  al  bene  comune,  publicamente  in  pergamo  a  muovere 
comincio,  che  per  niente  la  Signoria  per  le  VL  fave  confinare  potessi.  .  .  . 
Questa  cosa  nelt  alie  dava  a!  grandi,  i  quali  con  questo  bastone  tenere  sotto  gli 
uomini  dise^navano.  Per6  forte  sparlavano  contro  a  tale  provisione,  mostratido 
che  do  era  torre  r&pittazione  alia  Signoria"  etc.  (Parenti,  Istorie  Fiorentine ; 
Gherardi,  p.  112.  Glierardi  gives  in  extenso  the  long  section  of  the  Istorie  in 
which  Parenti  deals  with  the  whole  matter). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       i6i 

them  rather  than  on  men  of  low  degree  his  vengeance,  it  was  feared, 
would  surely  fall.  Now,  to  secure  his  exclusion  it  was  deemed  most 
desirable  that  the  hands  of  the  actual  government  should  by  all 
means  be  strengthened,  and  that  no  opportunity  should  be  allowed 
for  the  hatching  of  plots  for  his  return,  or  for  securing  the  ac- 
quittal of  any  one  who  might  be  found  guilty  of  complicity  in  such 
plots.  Parenti  says  that  when  the  project  of  an  amnesty  and  of  the 
law  of  appeal  was  first  broached,  it  was  observed  that  the  Bigi 
{i.e.  the  Medicean  faction)  were  greatly  rejoiced,  and  that  they 
were  beginning  to  hold  private  meetings  and  to  gather  strength 
("vedendosi  i  Bigi  rallegrare  e  stare  senza  timore,  anzi  insieme 
ragunarsi  e  intendersi "),  and  therefore  the  proposal  was  deemed 
dangerous.^  The  Mediceans,  or  Palleschi — so  called  from  the 
palle,  or  balls  (originally  pills),  which  were  the  device  of  the  Medici, 
and  which  are  familiar  to  us  all  as  the  sign  of  a  pawnbroker's  shop — 
at  this  time  made  a  show  of  being  followers  of  Fra  Girolamo,  and 
— having  much  to  expect  from  him — made  common  cause  with  the 
popular  party,  the  Bianchi  or  Frateschi.  Hence  their  name  of 
Bigi,  or  Greys,  as  politicians  of  a  neutral  tint,  neither  Bianchi  nor 
Neri,  neither  black  nor  white.  Many  shrewd  men  of  the  aristocratic 
faction  thought  that  Fra  Girolamo  was  being  hoodwinked  by  the 
treacherous  friendship  of  the  Bigi,  and  in  after  days  he  himself  bitterly 
reproached  them  for  their  ingratitude.^ 

The  opposition  to  the  proposed  law  of  appeal  was  energetically 
supported  by  a  Franciscan  preacher,  Fra  Domenico  da  Ponzo.  "  He 
was,"  says  Parenti,  "  a  man  of  considerable  learning,  but  not  of  holy 
life,  and  therefore  the  'Grandi '  had  little  difficulty  in  corrupting  him, 
and  in  stirring  him  up  against  Fra  Girolamo ;  though  indeed," 
he  shrewdly  adds,  "  it  generally  happens  that  preachers  are  jealous 
of  one  another."  One  would  willingly  believe  that  da  Ponzo  no  less 
than  Savonarola  acted  in  good  faith ;  and  it  may  very  well  be  that, 
from  the  strong  conviction  which  he  seems  to  have  entertained,  and 
which  he  certainly  expressed,  as  to  Savonarola's  delusion  in  the 
matter  of  his  prophecies,  he  was  led  by  the  fallacious  logic  of  feeling 
to  look  with  suspicion  upon  any  proposition  emanating  from  such  a 

^  Gherardi,  p.  114. 

*  "  Si  conoscea,"  says  Parenti,  "  che,  sotto  ombra  di  bene,  i  Bigi  per  paura  si 
li  erano  sottomessi,  ed  a  loro  cautela  esso  ci6  strigneva."  He  adds  that,  in  his 
opinion,  the  Friar  proceeded  in  all  good  faith  ("a  tulto  buono  cammino  andassi  "), 
and  advised  what  he  deemed  best  for  the  city  (Gherardi,  /cc.  cit.). 

L 


1 62  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

quarter.!  But  with  every  allowance  that  can  reasonably  be  made, 
it  seems  impossible  to  excuse  the  Franciscan's  interference  in  the 
question  of  the  seifave.  In  plain  English,  it  was  no  business  of 
his.  The  Signory  might  be  trusted  to  look  after  its  own  honour 
and  dignity  without  the  help  of  the  preacher  at  Santa  Croce.  In 
fact,  the  Signory  summoned  both  preachers  before  them,  together 
with  one  Fra  Tommaso  da  Rieti,  superior  ("  reggente ")  of  the 
Dominician  convent  of  Santa  Maria  Novella.  Savonarola  was 
asked  to  prove  that  he  held  a  divine  commission  to  preach,  pre- 
sumably on  political  matters.  After  listening  to  the  other  two  for 
a  while,  Savonarola  turned  on  his  heel  ("ne'  panni  ristrettosi  si 
parti "),  saying  that  he  knew  what  he  was  about,  that  time  would  bring 
the  truth  to  light,  and  that  evil  would  befall  them  if  they  did  not  follow 
his  advice.^  It  was  perhaps  the  inevitable  result  of  the  very  decided 
line  which  Fra  Girolamo  had  now  taken,  that  as  he  had  made  him- 
self at  once  the  mouthpiece  and  the  adviser  of  one  political  party, 
the  opposition  party  should  look  for  a  mouthpiece  and  an  adviser  of 
its  own,  and  that  Florence  should  be  entertained  with  the  not  very 
edifying  spectacle  of  these  two  rival  preachers  maintaining  con- 
tradictory theses  from  their  respective  pulpits. ^  But  at  least  it  must 
be  said  in  Savonarola's  favour  that,  considering  the  case  on  its 
merits,  the  advantage  on  the  whole  probably  lay  on  the  side  of  the 
proposed  measure  which  was  to  legalise  the  appeal  from  the 
sentence  of  the  Signory  or  the  Eight. 

^  "  Costui  {i.e.  da  Ponzo),  montato  in  pergamo,  mostr6  che  profeti  piu  non 
crano  n^  essere  poteano,  e  chi  per  parte  di  Dio  parlava  o  dicea  parlare,  dava 
evidente  segno  che  da  quello  molto  si  scostava"  (Parenti  apud  Gherardi,  p.  113). 
Whether  he  was  right  or  wrong  in  his  opinion,  da  Ponzo  can  hardly  be  acquitted 
of  the  reproach  of  officiousness — to  use  no  stronger  word — in  publicly  blaming 
his  rival. 

^  Gherardi,  p.  114. 

'  Cf.  Cosci,  pp.  298-99.  It  is  no  matter  for  surprise  that  Manfredi  should 
have  written  to  d'Este  (25lh  March  1495)  :  "  Dubito  che  sara  necessario  a 
provvedere  che  uno  de  epsi  lasse  el  predicare,  quando  voglino  continuare  in  toccare 
el  facto  del  .Stato  et  del  guberno  della  citta  "  (Cappelli,  n.  48).  In  fact,  before 
the  date  of  this  letter  :  "  fatti  advertiii  i  predicatori  come  divideano  la  citta,  essi 
prudentemente  dalla  impresa  si  tolsono,  pregando  Iddio  che  pigliare  I'ottimo 
partite  ci  lasciassi"  (Parenti,  loc.  cit.,  p.  117) ;  which  was  probably  the  best  thing 
they  could  have  done.  But  their  silence  on  the  subject  was  of  short  duration, 
for  on  the  very  next  page  we  read  :  "  I  predicatori,  benche  detto  avessino  di  cio 
piu  non  volere  parlare,  nientedimeno  instigati  credo  dalle  parti,  pure  nella  materia 
entravono,"  etc.  Cosci  perhaps  does  not  express  himself  too  strongly  when  he 
writes  (p.  299):  "  l.a  lotta  politico-fratesca  comincio  ad  errere  scandalosa  fin 
dal  princii.io." 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       163 

"We  must  modify  somewhat  [he  said]  this  authority  of  the  sei  favc  by 
granting  an  appeal  to  the  Eighty.  .  .  .  You  say  that  this  is  to  diminish 
the  autliority  of  the  Signory.  But  I  say  rather  that  it  is  to  increase  it. 
Either  the  Signory  wislies  to  act  unjustly  (in  some  particular  case),  arwl 
this  it  ought  not  to  be  empowered  to  do  ;  or  it  wishes  to  execute  justice, 
and  in  this  case  it  is  well  that  it  should  have  the  support  of  a  larger 
council  of  good  citizens."' 

As  usual  the  reasoning  is  a  little  at  fault ;  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  a  check  on  possible  judicial  injustice  was  needed,  and  it 
is  at  least  highly  probable  that  no  better  venue  could  have  been 
devised  in  the  case  of  an  appeal  than  the  Council  of  Eighty. 

The  Signory  of  January  and  February,  however,  succeeded  in 
staving  off  the  measure,  but  under  the  new  government  appointed 
for  March  and  April  the  balance  of  parties  was  shifted.  Several 
members  of  the  new  Signory  were  in  favour  of  the  measure,  and 
the  war  with  Pisa  indirectly  helped  the  cause.  The  projected 
law  of  appeal  had  been  linked  with  that  measure  of  general 
amnesty  which  has  been  already  mentioned,  in  the  hope,  perhaps, 
that  the  larger  measure  would  float  the  special  ordinance. 
Now  one  of  the  great  obstacles  which  had  stood  in  the  way 
of  both  was,  as  has  been  said,  the  fear  which  was  entertained  of 
the  Mediceans.  But  now,  under  stress  of  the  Pisan  crisis,  it  had 
been  necessary,  according  to  the  fiscal  methods  of  the  time,  to 
levy  contributions  from  wealthy  citizens,  and  among  these  some  of 
the  Palleschi  had  helped  to  supply  the  sinews  of  war.^  There  was 
then  something  of  a  revulsion  in  their  favour ;  it  was  felt  that  this 
was  no  time  for  criminal  prosecution  on  account  of  political  offences, 
real  or  supposed,  especially  in  the  case  of  men  who  had  at  least 
made  a  show  of  patriotism.  And  with  this  temporary  lull  of  anti- 
Medicean  feeling,  the  opposition  to  the  law  of  the  sei  fave  likewise 
grew  weaker.  Fra  Girolamo  continued  to  press  the  matter,  and, 
notwithstanding  the  persistent  opposition  of  da  Ponzo,  the  twofold 
law  was  passed  on  i6th,  17th,  and  19th  March  in  the  Collegio,  the 
Ottanta,  and  the  Consiglio  Maggiore  respectively.^     It  was  passed, 

^  S.  I  on  the  Psalms  (Epiphany,  1495)  ;  Villari,  i.  293. 

'  Guicciardini  (^Storia  Fiorentina,  p.  126),  PitLi  (p.  39),  and  Naidi  (i.  56),  all 
treat  these  circumstances  as  closely  connected. 

'  "  Marzo.  Entrata  la  nuova  Signoria  di  uomini  di  stima  e  di  condizione, 
sendovene  alcuni  strettissimi  parent!  delli  esosi  al  nuovo  reggimento,  un  altra 
volta  I'omorl  del  farsi  la  pace  universale  e  di  levarsi  la  autoritti  delle  6  fave 
risurse.  Da  una  parte  la  autoriia  di  frate  leronimo  e  la  presa  giusta  del  farsi  pace 
aveano  grande  forza  ;  da  1'  altra  parte  il  peiicolo  in  cui  condotti  ci  aveano  per  il 


i64  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

indeed,  not  precisely  in  the  form  in  which  it  had  been  first  pro- 
posed by  Savonarola.  The  right  ot  appeal  was  eslabhshed,  but  the 
appeal  was  to  lie,  not  to  the  Eighty  but  to  the  Great  Council.  Villari 
will  have  it  that  a  kind  of  "  infernal  "  malice  and  treachery  on  the 
part  of  certain  prominent  citizens  underlay  this  change.  Vespucci, 
who  had  before  vehemently  opposed  the  proposal,  now  strongly 
supported  it  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  laid  before  the  CoUegio  ; 
and  Villari  suggests  that  the  real  motive  of  this  sudden  change  ot 
front  was  the  hope  that  the  abuses  and  disorders  which  were  sure 
to  arise  if  contested  criminal  cases  were  brought  before  so  numerous 
a  body,  might  hereafter  serve  to  discredit  the  whole  scheme  ot 
popular  government. 1  For  our  part,  we  are  disposed  to  take  a 
different  view  of  the  matter. 2  It  was  unquestionably  one  of 
Vespucci's  main  objects  to  make  the  return  of  Piero  impossible. 
Now,  whereas  it  was  conceivable  that  the  Medicean  party  might,  by 
an  adroit  manipulation  of  political  wires,  secure  a  majority  in  the 
Ottanta,  it  was  perhaps  less  probable  that  they  would  ever  be  able  to 
gain  the  favour  of  the  Consiglio  Maggiore.    Nor  has  Villari  adduced 

loro  malo  governo  chi  detta  pace  domandava,  stoglievano  il  popolo  a  consenlirvi. 
.  .  .  Queste  ragioni  favore  ancora  piglievano  da'  confoiti  di  frate  Domenico  da 
Ponzo"  (Parenti,  apud  Gheiaidi,  p.  115).  Da  Ponzo,  according  to  the  writer^ 
rivalled  Fra  Girolamo  in  predicting  a  glorious  future  for  Florence,  if  only  no 
false  step  were  taken.  Parenti  likewise  explains  (p.  116),  as  we  have  done 
above,  the  bearing  of  the  Pisan  war  on  the  whole  question.  The  controversy 
between  Savonarola  and  da  Ponzo  is  mentioned  in  numerous  contemporary 
documents,  e.g.  Castiglione  to  Sforza,  24th  January  (Cappelli,  n.  35) ;  Manfredi 
to  d'Este,  25th  March  ("  Se  detraheno  et  mordeno  spesso  nel  loro  predicare, 
secondo  che  me  6  riferito  "  ;  Cappelli,  n.  48)  ;  Madonna  Guglielmina  della  Stufa 
to  her  husband,  25th  May  ("  lo  ve  so  dire  che  noi  avemo  asai  che  respondere  de 
quelo  se  dicie  k  predicato  costi  el  Ponzo.  E  in  soma  ne  sete  biasimato  grande- 
mente,  d'  averlo  lasciato  predicare  :  benche  io  non  stimi  che  gli  abia  deto  tante 
cose,  quante  se  dicie"  ;  Gherardi,  p.  1 29) ;  as  well  as  by  Nardi,  Parenti,  etc. 

'  Villari,  i.  395  ^19' 

"^  Mr  Armstrong  {E.H.R.  iv.  450  sqij.")  has,  we  think,  quite  conclusively  shown 
that  the  testimony  of  contemporary  writers  altogether  contradicts  Villari's  theory 
about  the  "arte  ed  astuzia  quasi  infernale"  which  he  attributes  to  the  Ottimati  on 
this  occasion.  No  one  supposes  that  party  politics  at  Florence  were  perfectly 
straightforward,  but  it  is  well  to  be  sparing  in  the  use  of  superlatives.  Lupi,  who 
has  published  a  series  of  debates  touching  on  the  history  of  Savonarola,  but 
belonging  to  a  later  period  of  his  life,  very  sensibly  writes :  "  Udimmo  i  nomi 
faziosi  di  Piagnoni,  di  Arrabbiati,  di  Bigi  e  di  Compagnacci,  e  gli  credemmo 
nella  lor  parte  tutti  d'un  istesso  valore,  di  un  sentimento  ugualmente  forte:  .  .  . 
che  poi  vi  fossero  cittadini  moderati,  imparziali,  nemici  solo  di  queste  patrie 
discordie,  a  ncssuno  parve  cadere  in  mente"  (p.  4). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       165 

any  kind  of  proof  that  the  change  of  venue  from  the  Ottanta  to  the 
ConsigHo  Maggiorc  was  really  the  work  of  the  Ottimati,  and  not 
rather  of  the  popular  party.  The  speech  of  Luca  Corsini,  a 
prominent  member  of  that  party,  in  favour  of  the  bill,  was  not  less 
emphatic  than  that  of  Vespucci.^  However  this  may  be,  Fra 
Girolamo  appears  to  have  raised  no  objection  to  the  change  ; 
and  after  the  measure  had  once  been  passed,  he  always  spoke  of 
it  as  one  of  the  mainstays  of  the  new  constitution,  and  took 
credit  to  himself  for  its  introduction. 2  Da  Ponzo,  on  the  other 
hand,  found  satisfaction  in  assuring  the  people  that  they  had 
been  deceived.^     But  here  he  disappears  from  the  scene. 

The  next  thing  which  was  needful  was  that  the  Accoppiatori 
should  be  induced  to  lay  down  their  office.  This,  it  is  easy  to 
understand,  they  were  unwilling  to  do.  After  some  delay, 
however,  certain  members  of  the  Twenty  who  were  well  disposed 
to  Fra  Girolamo,  set  the  example  of  a  voluntary  resignation  ; 
under  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  the  rest  followed  suit,  and 
the  Board  ceased  to  exist  on  nth  June  i495-* 

Finally,  in  order  to  secure  the  stability  and  permanence  of  the 
constitution  which  we  have  thus  barely  outlined,  a  law  was  enacted 
prohibiting  for  all  future  time  the  calling  of  a  Parlamento ;  for  it  was 
felt  by  the  friends  of  the  new  constitution  that  no  form  of  govern- 
ment was  secure  against  the  sudden  impulses  of  the  mob,  who  had 

1  See  the  speeches  in  Villari,  i.  298  sqq.  Parenti  (Gherardi,  p.  117)  suggests 
that  as  the  Ottimati  saw  the  time  approaching  when  the  Signory  would  be  chosen 
by  a  popular  election  {i.e.  by  the  Great  Council),  they  began  to  see  that  for  their 
own  sakes  it  would  be  well  to  limit  the  power  of  a  government  so  appointed.  But 
he  says  noi  a  word  ai  out  the  ch  inge  of  venue.  Savonarola  indeed  had  suggested 
that  the  appeal  should  lie  to  the  Ottanta,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  (so  far  as 
we  are  aware)  that  this  proposal  was  ever  embodied  in  <\v.y projet  de  hi  that  was 
actually  drawn  up. 

^  "  Of  Savonarola's  opposiiion,"  says  Mr  Armstrong,  "there  is  not  a  word." 
Both  Machiavelli  and  Guicciardini,  as  he  points  out,  ascribe  the  measure  to  the 
Friar.  "  It  is  clear  that  the  only  alternative  before  the  State  was  appeal  to  the 
Grand  Council  or  no  appeal  ;  and  that  Savonarola  was  preaching  in  favour  of  the 
appeal  to  the  Grand  Council  is  conclusively  proved  by  the  fact  that  he  continued 
to  preach  for  the  appeal  after  the praiica  of  March"  {E.H.R.  iv.  451). 

'  Parenti,  !oc.  cit.,  p.  121. 

*  Nardi  (i.  66-67)  gives  as  one  ef  the  reasons  why  there  was  no  longer  any  need 
of  the  .\ccoppiatori,  that  the  fear  of  Piero  de'  Medici  and  of  the  French  icing  was 
now  at  an  end  ("  per  essere  passato  il  timore  del  re  e  di  Piero  de'  Medici.")  And 
yet  their  resignation  tonk  place  only  a  few  days  before  Fra  Girolamo's  embass}' 
10  Poggibonsi.  The  real  reason  for  the  desije  to  be  rid  of  them  was  more 
probably  a  sense  of  their  incompetence  {c/.  Guicciardini.  Storia  Fiorentina,  p.  131). 


i66  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

so  often  been  betrayed  into  surrendering  their  freedom    under  the 
flattering  pretext  that  they  were  exercising  it.* 

Such  was  the  work  of  the  winter  of  1494-5,  and  of  the  following 
spring  and  summer,  and  among  all  the  men  who  contributed  to  its 
successful  completion  the  foremost  place  must  indisputably  be  given 
to  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola.  How  unreservedly  he  regarded  it  as 
the  direct  work  of  God  has  been  already  seen  ;  with  what  vehemence 
he  expressed  himself  with  reference  to  those  who  should  oppose  it 
or  attempt  to  overthrow  it,  will  sufficiently  appear  from  passages  such 
as  the  following.  After  speaking  in  general  terms  against  the 
institution  of  the  Parlamento,  or  occasional  general  assembly  of  the 
people,  as  "  an  instrument  of  destruction  "  which  must  be  abolished, 
he  says : — 

"  Be  assured  that  a  Parlamento  means  nothing  less  than  to  take  the 
governing  power  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people.  Keep  this  in  mind,  and 
teach  it  to  your  sons.  People,  so  soon  as  you  hear  the  sound  of  the  bell  to 
call  a  Parlamento,  arise,  and  unsheath  your  swords.  What  is  it  your  wish 
to  do  ?  Cannot  this  Council  {i.e.  the  newly  established  Consiglio  Grande) 
do  everything  ?  What  law  do  you  wish  to  have  made  ?  Cannot  the 
Council  make  it  ?  I  would  have  you  make  this  provision— that  as  soon 
as  the  Signory  enter  upon  their  office,  they  shall  take  an  oath  not  to  call 
a  Parlamento  ;  and  if  any  one  should  secretly  attempt  to  call  one,  let 
him  who  discloses  the  attempt,  if  he  be  one  of  the  Signory,  receive  30,000 
ducats;  if  another  person,  1,000.  And  if  he  who  makes  the  attempt  be 
one  of  the  Signory,  let  htm  lose  his  head ;  if  another  person,  let  him  be 
declared  a  rebel.,  and  let  all  his  goods  be  confiscated.  And  let  all  the 
Gonfalonier!  {i.e.  the  captains  of  the  civic  guard)  on  entering  upon 
their  office  take  an  oath,  that  so  soon  as  they  hear  the  sound  of  the  bell 
calling  a  Parlamento,  they  shall  forthwith  hasten  to  sack  the  houses  of  the 
Signory.,  and  let  the  Gonfalonier!  who  shall  sack  one  of  the  houses 
receive  one-fourth  of  the  property  found  therein.  .  .  .  Further,  if  the 
Signory  are  going  to  call  a  Parlamento,  the  moment  they  set  foot  on  the 
Ringhiera  let  them  no  longer  be  considered  as  holding  office  ;  and  eifiy 
one  cutting  them  in  pieces  shall  not  be  guilty  of  sin."  - 

"  This,"  says  Villari,  "was  a  momentary  extravagance  of  language." 
But  Luotto  very  frankly  admits  that  passages  comparable  with  the 
above  recur  again  and  again  in  the  sermons  preached  by  Savonarola 
in  1496.^ 

'  Villari,  i.  306.  The  abuses  of  the  appeal  to  the  Parlanientu  have  been  well 
set  forth  by  Mrs  Oliphant,  Alakers  0/  Florence,  p.  290. 

*  S.  26  on  the  Psalms  (Villari,  i.  307-8). 

•  Villari,  loc.  cit.  ;  Luolto,  p.  368. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       167 

The  discourse  from  which  we  have  quoted  was  delivered  on  28th 
July,  1495.  On  13th  August,  the  law  abolishing  for  ever  the  appeal 
to  a  Parlamento  was  passed.  Conspiracy  for  the  purpose  of  calling 
one  of  these  assemblies  was  to  be  punished  with  death,  "and  a 
reward  of  300  florins  shall  be  given  to  him  who  shall  reveal  such  a 
conspiracy." ' 

On  nth  October  of  the  same  year,  in  view  of  a  threatened 
attempt  by  Piero  de'  Medici  to  effect  by  force  an  entrance  into  the 
city — 

"Holding  up  the  crucifix,  he  openly,  and  with  a  loud  voice,  advised  that 
any  one  who  should  propose  the  restoration  of  a  despotism  in  Florence 
should  be  put  to  death  ;  and  that  whoever  would  bring  back  the  Medici 
should  be  dealt  with  as  the  Romans  dealt  with  those  who  desired  to 
bring  back  Tarquinius.  '  Wilt  thou,'  he  said,  '  who  are  not  willing  to 
pay  respect  to  Christ,  have  respect  for  private  citizens  ?  Execute  justice, 
I  say  to  you.  Off  with  his  head  ! — Be  he  the  chief  of  any  family  whatever, 
off  with  his  head  I  ....  Place  confidence  nowhere  but  in  the  Consiglio 
Maggiore,  which  is  the  work  of  God  and  not  of  man  ;  and  whosoever 
would  change  it,  whosoever  would  place  the  government  in  the  hands  of 
a  few,  may  he  be  eternally  accursed  by  the  Lord.' "  * 

Four  days  later  the  Friar's  words  bore  fruit  in  a  Provisionc 
whereby  it  was  declared  that  "  Piero  de'  Medici  having  .  .  .  made 
many  attempts  against  the  liberty  of  Florence,  and  having  been 
declared  a  rebel  .  .  .  may  be  put  to  death  by  any  one  with 
impunity,"  and  a  price  of  4000  gold  florins  was  put  upon  his  head.* 
This  last  measure,  we  may  add,  was  regarded  as  unwise  even  by 
some  of  those  who  did  not  desire  Piero's  return.* 

^  Villari,  i.  309. 

'>■  Villari,  i.  3S7-8. 

8  Villari,  i.  388-9. 

^  Guicciardini,  Del  Reggimento  di  Firenzc,  p.  216.  This  treatise,  to  which 
we  shall  frequently  have  occasion  to  refer,  is  cast  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue, 
in  whicli  the  principal  speaker  is  Bernardo  del  Nero,  the  other  interlocutors 
being  Pagolantonio  Soderini,  Piero  Capponi,  and  Piero  Guicciardini,  the 
author's  father.  The  dialogue,  though  fictitious,  is  founded  upon  a  conversation 
actually  held  by  these  distinguished  men  at  Bernardo's  villa  in  the  winter  of 
1494-95.  It  is  extremely  valuable,  not  merely  as  showing  what  were  the  views 
held  by  experienced  politicians  concerning  the  constitutional  changes  then  in 
progress,  but  also  as  illustrating  the  possibility  of  friendly  discussion  on  the 
burning  questions  of  the  hour  among  men  of  very  opposite  opinions.  This 
friendly  iceling  was  not  likely  to  lie  promoted  by  tiie  kind  of  language  which  Era 
Girolamo,  occasionally  at  least,  allowed  himself  to  use.  Guicciardini  himself,  it 
should  be  added,  was  a  lirni  supporter  of  the  Consiglio  Grande. 


i68  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

It  would  perhaps  not  be  rash  to  say  that  the  Friar's  words  also 
bore  fruit  in  an  unforeseen  way  when  the  veteran  statesman,  Bernardo 
del  Nero,  with  four  companions,  Lorenzo  Tornabuoni,  Niccolo 
Ridolfi,  Gianozzo  Pucci,  and  Giovanni  Cambi,  suffered  death  on 
22nd  August  1497,  for  complicity  in  a  plot  for  the  restoration  of 
Piero.  The  tragedy  is  at  least  so  closely  connected  with  the 
political  line  taken  by  Savonarola,  that  we  may  be  pardoned  for 
anticipating  the  course  of  events  by  relating  it  here.  Bernardo  was 
pronounced  guilty  in  so  far  that,  having  been  Gofifaloniere  di  Giusiizia 
at  the  time,  he  had  not  revealed  the  plot  to  the  Signory.  The 
others  were  condemned  as  active  participants.  This  was  an  occasion 
on  which  the  law  authorising  an  appeal  from  Xhtsei  fave,  or  sentence 
of  the  Otto,  to  the  Consiglio  Grande  might  perhaps  have  been  expected 
to  take  effect.!  There  were,  it  is  true,  special  circumstances  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  many,  invalidated  the  right  of  appeal  in  this 
particular  case ;  for  the  proceedings  had  been  by  way  of  impeach- 
ment before  a  special  council  of  some  130  officials  convened  a^  A<?<r, 
and  not  simply  by  way  of  a  trial  before  the  Otto.  The  larger  council 
having  passed  a  resolution  declaring  the  conspirators  worthy  of 
death,  the  Eight,  by  a  majority  of  six  to  two^  voted  that  the  resolu- 
tion should  take  effect.  Then  arose  the  question  of  allowing  the 
appeal,  which  was  referred  to  the  Signory.  Four  were  in  favour  of 
the  appeal,  five  against  it.  This  being  so,  the  appeal  would 
probably  have  been  allowed,  but  for  the  violent  interposition  of 
Francesco  Valori,  who  happened  to  be  the  principal  political  sup- 
porter of  Fra  Girolamo.  Seizing  the  ballot-box,  and  advancing  to 
the  bench  of  the  Signory,  he  fairly  frightened  the  Provost  into 
putting  the  question  "that  justice  be  at  once  executed."  Moreover, 
by  his  violent  conduct  and  language — only  too  faithful  an  echo 
of  the  words  of  the  preacher  —  he  succeeded  in  securing  a 
unanimous  vote  where  at  the  previous  scrutiny  there  had  been  a 
majority  of  only  one.^     Savonarola  has   been    severely  blamed  for 

1  It  had  taken  effect  on  occasion  of  the  conviction  of  Filippo  Corbizi  and 
others  for  participation  in  a  political  plot  in  April  1496.  The  appeal  was  allowed, 
but  did  not  avail  to  obtain  a  reversal  of  the  sentence  (Guicciardini,  Storia 
Fiorentina,  p.  142  ;  Landucci,  Diario,  27th  and  28th  April,  8th  May,  pp.  130-32). 

"^  The  whole  proceedings  are  set  forth  at  considerable  length,  and  the  final 
scene  graphically  described,  by  Pitti,  Istoria  Fiorentina,  jip.  43-49.  Speaking  of 
Valori  he  says:  "  Itone  a  pi^  (della  pancata  d.  Signoria)  batte  forte  sul  desco 
col  bossolo  de'partiti":  and  then,  after  reciting  his  violent  harangue  (which  is 
given  by  Villari,  ii.  55-6)  he  adds:    "Quasi  furibondo  distese  il  braccio  con  il 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       169 

not  having  interposed,  during  tlic  period  over  which  these  proceed- 
ings extended,  in  order  to  secure  for  the  conspirators  the  exercise 
of  a  right  which  he  himself  had  helped  to  establish.  The  reproach 
is  strongly  urged  against  him  by  the  author  oi  Romola}  Villari,  on 
the  other  hand,  and  the  gifted  authoress  of  The  Makers  of  Florence, 
entirely  exonerate  him.^  It  may  at  least  be  said  that  he  was 
under  no  obligation  to  interpose  on  behalf  of  men  whom  he  re- 
garded as  dangerous  traitors.  A  more  far-seeing  sagacity,  however, 
to  say  nothing  of  a  more  large-hearted  charity,  might  perhaps  have 
suggested  that  a  greater  danger  to  the  public  welfare  lay  in  the 
gratification  of  the  thirst  for  political  vengeance.  Within  a  year 
both  Francesco  Valori  and  Savonarola  himself  were  to  fall  victims 
to  the  violence  of  Florentine  party  spirit.  A  few  months  later,  says 
Guicciardini,  every  one  regretted  the  death  of  the  five  conspirators. 
"But  this  regret  cannot,"  he  adds,  "restore  them  to  life."  ^  The 
condemnation  of  Bernardo  and  his  companions,  for  the  time  at 
least,  alienated  from  the  Friar  several  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
Florence ;  among  them,  Pagolantonio  Soderini,  Gianbattista  Ridolfi, 
and  Piero  Guicciardini."^ 

These  particular  incidents,  however,  lie  somewhat  aside  from 
the  question  which  now  claims  consideration,  viz.  what  is  to  be 
thought  of  the  very  active  part  which  Fra  Girolamo  took  in 
initiating  the  new  constitution  of  Florence? 

bossolo  in  niano,  invitando  il  Martini  (the  provost)  alia  risoluzione."  The 
resolution  having  been  put:  "La  pronta  proposta  del  Martini,  e  la  presenza 
feroce  del  Valori,  sbigotti  di  maniera  li  quattro  Signori  aversi  che  renderono  nella 
sua  mano  favorevole  partito ;  e  fattone  il  bullelino  agli  Otto,  ne  fu  subito  da  loro 
la  deliberazione  eseguita  "  (p.  49).  The  five  condemned  men  were  executed  at 
dead  of  night. 

^  Romola,  ch.  lix. 

'^  Villari,  ii.  58  sqq.     Oliphant,  Makers  of  F/orevce,  p.  312  S(jq. 

■*  Storia,  p.  164. 

*  Pitti,  p.  50.  "  Reslo  Francesco  Valori  .  .  .  celebrate  dal  popolo  come  un 
nuovo  Catone  .  .  .  con  odio  giandissimo  degl'  interessi  co'  niorti,  e  con  invidii 
non  poca  de'  principal!  della  sua  medesima  setta.  Fra  i  quali  Pagolantonio 
Soderini,  per  gratiticarsi  ai  Palleschi  ;  Giovambattista  Ridolfi.  per  la  morte  del 
suo  fralello  ;  Picvo  Guicciardini,  per  I'afTronlo  ricevuto  da  lui,  si  accoslarono  (per 
tirarlo  addietro)  agli  avversarii  del  Frate."  Such  was  the  judgment  of  later  days. 
At  the  lime,  the  Signory  wrote  of  the  affair  to  Bracci  (31st  August,  1497  ;  Villari, 
ii.  Append,  p  xlix)  as  of  one  :  "  Di  che  speriamo  la  nostra  Republica  havere 
imortale  ob  igaiione  a  Dio  ;  per  havere  passato  questo  pericolo  imminente  alia 
liberta,  per  la  avaritia,  ambitione,  et  perfidia  di  qucsti  homini  scelesti  el  dolorosi 
(J.e.  'tristi')  citladini."  But  thev  would  naturally  use  strong  language  in  seeking 
to  justify  tlieir  action  at  Rome. 


tyo  GlkOLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

We  have  no  wish  whatever  to  express  disapproval  of  his  action 
in  the  matter,  simply  because  it  does  not  perchance  seem  to  fit  in  with 
post-Tridentine  notions  of  ecclesiastical  propriety.  But  judging  his 
conduct  in  the  light  of  principles  fully  recognised  in  his  own  time, 
and  also  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  it  does  seem  to  us  that, 
in  the  proceedings  which  we  have  briefly  summarised,  he  went  too 
fast  and  too  far.  A  great  opportunity  had  no  doubt  arisen.  The 
welfare  of  the  republic  depended  in  great  measure  upon  his  action. 
The  State  was  in  need  of  help,  and  that  help  it  was  in  his  power, 
more  than  in  that  of  any  other  man,  to  give.  There  was  no  lack  of 
general  principles  on  which  it  was  important  to  insist,  and  on  some 
if  not  on  all  of  which  Fra  Girolamo  did  insist  at  this  crisis.  For 
instance,  that  the  law  of  Christ  should  be  the  basis  of  all  government 
in  a  Christian  people  (as  against  the  cynical  dictum  of  Cosimo  de' 
Medici  that  a  State  cannot  be  governed  by  paternosters) ;  that 
political  duties  cannot  be  dissociated  from  moral  obligations,  and 
that  the  giving  of  a  vote  for  or  against  a  measure  is  a  matter  not 
merely  of  expediency,  but  of  conscience;  that  it  is  sometimes  a 
duty  to  come  to  a  prompt  decision  even  when  the  grounds  for  such 
a  decision  are,  in  the  nature  of  things,  only  probable,  and  that  this 
duty  now  lay  upon  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the 
republic  ;  that  in  weighing  the  grounds  for  such  a  conclusion  the 
end  to  be  obtained,  viz.  the  general  welfare,  ought  alone  to  be 
steadily  kept  in  view  to  the  exclusion  of  all  side  issues ;  that  in 
weighing  the  advice  given  by  rival  politicians,  account  should  be 
taken  of  their  motives,  so  far  as  their  motives  might  be  gauged  by  a 
review  of  their  past  career;  that  the  example  of  neighbouring  States, 
whose  circumstances  resembled  their  own,  might  well  weigh  more 
than  abstract  political  theories ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  that  when 
a  decision  should  be  reached  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  disappointed 
minority  to  submit  to  the  accomplished  fact,  and  loyally  to  abstain 
from  all  underhand  efforts  to  upset  a  constitution  which  would 
deserve,  as  it  would  require,  much  patient  forbearance  until  it  had 
become  consolidated  by  time.' 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  principles  like  these  are  capable  of 
indefinite  expansion  and  illustration  at  the  hands  of  an  orator  gifted 
as  Savonarola  was.  To  have  given  advice  of  this  kind  would  have 
been  entirely  in  keeping  with  tlie  preacher's   religious  profession  ; 

'  The  need  of  such  patient  forbearance  is  more  than  once  referred  to,  or  im- 
plied, in  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  e.g.  pp.  loo,  119,  124. 


tHE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       !7t 

and  to  have  developed  with  all  his  wonderful  eloquence,  and  driven 
home  with  all  his  fiery  energy,  the  fundamental  truths  of  political 
morality,  would  have  been  to  confer  a  real  boon  upon  his  fellow- 
citizens.  To  have  done  this,  as  he  was  so  well  fitted  to  do  it,  would 
have  been  to  exercise  the  functions  of  the  true  educator,  whose  aim 
is  to  teach  his  pupils  to  work  and  think  for  themselves,  rather  than 
to  attempt  to  smooth  the  path  to  knowledge  by  doing  their  work  for 
them.  Nor,  again,  considering  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  could 
we  have  blamed  Fra  Girolamo  if — being  invited  by  the  Signory — 
he  had  expounded  before  them,  like  any  other  speaker,  his  own 
individual  views  as  to  the  decision  which  ought  to  be  taken.  His 
preference  for  the  Consiglio  Grande  was  well  worthy  to  carry 
weight  in  the  discussion  ;  and  when  the  Council  had  been  once 
established,  secret  plots  and  machinations,  having  its  downfall  for 
their  end,  deserved  all  the  reprobation  which  disloyalty  to  any  other 
form  ofduly  established  government  would  rightly  have  called  forth. 
But  it  was  one  thing  to  insist,  as  any  Christian  preacher  might 
on  occasion  find  it  his  duty  to  insist,  on  general  principles  of 
political  morality,  or  again,  under  exceptional  circumstances,  to 
tender  his  advice  on  questions  of  constitutional  politics  ;  it  was  a 
very  different  thing  to  invest  his  own  personal  opinions  in  a  manner 
with  the  authority  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  say  in  God's  name  what  God 
had  perchance  given  him  no  commission  to  say.  Assuming  the  bo7ia 
fides  oi  Fra  Girolamo,  it  will  be  understood  that  we  do  not  intend  to 
impute  moral  blame  in  connection  with  every  single  logical  or 
practical  result  from  what  we  believe  to  have  been  an  initial  error  ; 
but  having  in  view  only  the  objective  truth  of  the  matter,  we  may 
safely  say  that  it  is  always  a  mistake — and  it  may  be  a  very  mis- 
chievous mistake — to  pretend  to  certainty  where  probability  alone 
is  available  as  the  guide  of  life  and  action,  or  to  claim  a  directly 
divine  sanction  for  that  which  is  divine  only  in  the  sense  in  which 
the  natural  outcome  of  human  prudence  and  sagacity  is  a  God-given 
boon.  There  was  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  a  Council  "  after 
the  manner  of  the  Venetians."  It  is  quite  possible,  nay,  highly 
probable,  that  under  the  circumstances  no  better  basis  of  govern- 
ment could  have  been  devised  by  or  for  the  Florentine  Republic. 
But  in  endeavouring  to  form  a  judgment  on  the  malter,  two  points 
must  be  steadily  kept  in  mind.  First,  that  as  a  matter  of  simple  fact 
this  copying  of  the  Venetian  pt)lity  was  like  the  enacting  of  Hamlet 
without  the  Prince  of  Dentnark  ;  and  secondly,  tb^t  as  a  matter  of 


172  GiROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

opinion,  many  shrewd  contemporary  politicians  regarded  the  omission 
as  fatal.  Venice  had  its  Doge  elected  for  life.  To  make  the  resem- 
blance perfect,  Florence  should  have  had  its  Gonfaloniere  a  vita,  or 
at  the  very  least  it  should  have  elected  a  President  of  some  kind 
whose  tenure  of  office  could  be  reckoned  by  years  and  not  by 
months.^  And  in  fact  after  the  new  constitution — formed  under  the 
influence  of  Fra  Girolamo — had  been  on  its  trial  for  eight  years,  the 
need  of  such  a  provision  made  itself  so  keenly  felt  that  in  1502  Piero 
Soderini,  nephew  of  Pagolantonio,  was  chosen  perpetual  Gonfaloniere? 
We  are  not  saying  that  this  ought  to  have  been  done  sooner.  We 
can  easily  understand  that  in  1594  the  special  circumstances  of  the 
time  may  have  made  any  such  provision  practically  impossible.^  In 
the  days  which  followed  Piero's  expulsion  it  is  probable  that  not  even 
the  eloquence  of  a  Savonarola — had  he  cared  to  devote  it  to  such  a 
cause — could  have  induced  the  people  of  Florence  to  elect  or  accept 
one  of  the  Medici,  under  altered  conditions,  as  the  constitutional  head 
of  the  State ;  nor  would  Piero,  it  may  be  surmised,  have  been  con- 
tented to  accept  or  to  hold  such  a  position  under  the  needful  restric- 
tions.'* On  the  other  hand  there  was,  perhaps,  no  one  else  whose 
known  capabilities  or  services  to  the  State — not  to  speak  of  other 
qualifications — would  have  made  him  an  acceptable  candidate  for  a 
lengthened  term  of  presidency.^  And  for  these  reasons  among  others 
it  may  well  be  that  no  better  scheme  of  government  could  have 
been  devised  than  that  which  was  actually  adopted. 

At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  were 
politicians  of  high  character  who  regarded  Piero's  expulsion  as 

1  Guicciardini,  Del  Re^.y  p.  136  ;  Storia,  cap.  xxv.  ;  Discorso  III.,  pp.  272- 
273.  Of  the  Venetian  Republic  he  says  that:  "  E  stato  grandissimo  fondamento 
lo  avere  uno  Duce  perpetuo,  e  se  ne  vedde  ancora  lo  esempio  per  contrario 
in  noi,  otto  anni  (1494-1502)  dopo  lo  essere  fondato  il  vivere  populare  ;  dove  il  non 
essere  chi  tenessi  cura  del  governo  particularmente  ci  condusse  in  tanto  precipizio 
che  la  salute  nostra  nacque  molte  volte  piu  tosto  da  Dio  o  dal  caso  che  dailiuomini 
o  dal  sapere." 

2  Guicciardini,  Storia,  loc.  cit. 

^  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  p.  183. 

*  Nardi,  when  relating  the  debates  which  preceded  the  restoration  of  the  Medici 
in  1 5 12,  shrewdly  remarks  that  it  was  well  understood  that  the  proposed  guarantee 
against  molestation,  which  was  to  be  granted  in  their  favour,  practically  amounted 
to  a  guarantee  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  molest  others  (ii.  3  sqq^, 

5  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  p[).  30,  157.  "  It  seems  probable,"  says  Mr  Armstrong, 
"that  Savonarola  intended"  (we  would  rather  say,  "hiped")  "to  secure  his 
party  in  po.ser  by  the  creation  of  a  life  gonfalonierate.  The  subsequent  history  of 
the  party  is  in  favour  of  this,  and  his  own  confession  on  the  point  is  so  moderate 
and  so  sensible  that  weight  may  be  attached  to  it"  (^E,H.R.  iv.  454).  For 
Savonarola's  "  Confession,"  see  infra,  p.  413. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       173 

nothiii^^  short  of  a  civic  calamity.^  Convinced  that  the  first  con- 
dition of  Florentine  prosperity  was  security  from  her  external  foes ; 
that  continuity  and  resolute  vigour  in  her  foreign  policy  were  the 
best  guarantees  of  such  security;  that  this  continuity  and  vigour 
could  only  be  hoped  for  under  the  guiding  hand  of  a  single  man  ; 
and,  finally,  that  the  only  form  of  one-man  government  which  was 
possible  for  Florence  was  that  rule  of  the  Medici  on  which  the 
experience  of  sixty  years  had  set  its  seal — they  held  that,  notwith- 
standing all  his  faults,  it  would  have  been  wiser,  to  say  the  least, 
not  to  banish  Piero  from  Florence.^  The  moral  influence  of  Lorenzo 
and  of  Piero  had,  probably,  been  as  bad  as  that  of  Charles  II.  or 
George  IV,  was  afterwards  to  be  in  England.^  But  such  evils  must 
sometimes  be  tolerated  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  others  which  may 
prove  greater  in  the  long  run.  The  real  motive  for  the  expulsion  of 
Piero  was  not,  after  all,  the  desire  of  a  moral  reform.  And  it  is  at 
least  possible  that  if  the  fiasco  of  the  fortresses  had  been  made  the 
occasion,  not  for  expelling  him,  but  for  safeguarding  the  State 
against  an  arbitrary  and  despotic  exercise  of  his  power,  the  ultimate 
results  of  such  measures  might  have  been  better  for  all  parties  than 
the  outcome  of  Fra  Girolamo's  political  reform.  At  home,  taught 
by  experience,  and  his  power  limited  by  constitutional  checks,  Piero 
might  yet  have  proved  a  capable  ruler.-*  In  exile,  he  was  sure  to 
prove  a  dangerous  enemy,  and  still  greater,  perchance,  would  be  the 
danger  to  be  apprehended  after  his  death  from  some  more  able 
and  determined  member  of  the  family.^  The  "  plague  of  powerful 
exiles  {poienti  fuorusciti),''  as  Bernardo  calls  it  in  Guicciardini's 
dialogue,  of  men  whose  very  existence  was  a  standing  menace  to 
the  State,  was  an  evil  of  which  it  was  not  easy  to  exaggerate  the 
magnitude.*^ 

It  was,  of  course,  possible  to  believe  all  this,  and  yet — while 
regretting  Piero's  expulsion— to  hold  that  he  ought  not  to  be  allowed 

^  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  p.  107. 
'^  Guicciardini,  ibid.,  pp.  96,  81,  157. 

^  "  The  corrupting  despotism  of  the  Medici  had  exercised  the  worst  possible 
influence  on  the  religious  and  moral  life  of  the  people  "  (Schnitzer,  p.  557). 

*  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  p.  102.  Pitti  (p.  28)  very  plainly  says  that  long  before 
the  affair  of  the  fortresses  Piero's  enemies  had  determined  on  his  ruin,  and  this 
from  no  genuinely  patriotic  motive.  "  Conciossiache  i  piu  riputati  dello  stato 
procuravano  la  rovina  di  Piero,  non  per  zelo  di  rictiperare  la  liherth,  ma  per  aon 
avere  nella  tirannide  la  parte  consueta,  come  s'erano  sempre  promtssi." 

"  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  p.  215. 

*  Guicciardini,  ibid.,  pp.  95,  209. 


174  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

to  return.  It  was  possible  to  be  fully  alive  to  the  mischievous  con- 
fusion 01  ideas  which  cloaked  over  with  the  honoured  name  of  liberty 
the  vulgar  ambition  of  a  crowd  of  incompetent  men  to  have  a  hand 
in  the  administration  of  the  State,  and  yet  to  hold  that,  under 
existing  circumstances,  the  balance  of  advantage  lay  in  accepting 
the  accomplished  fact.  Such  was  the  view  of  those  moderate 
politicians  whose  opinions  are  so  fully  set  forth  by  Guicciardini  in 
the  dialogue  Del  Reggimetito  di  Firenze,  under  the  name  of  Bernardo 
del  Nero.  Again  and  again  Bernardo  reminds  his  guests  that  the 
true  notion  of  liberty  is  equality  under  the  laws,  not  an  equal  par- 
ticipation in  the  making  or  administration  of  the  laws ;  that  it  is  the 
latter  which  men  (in  Florence  particularly)  commonly  seek  under  the 
name  of  liberty ;  and  that  this  ambition  is  mischievous,  and  must  be 
kept  in  check.^  He  concludes,  however,  by  giving  advice  as  to  how 
to  make  the  best  of  a  state  of  things  which  he  deeply  deplores. 
Asked  whether  he  desires  the  return  of  Piero,  he  answers,  in  effect : 
No,  I  wish  that  he  had  not  been  banished,  but  now  that  he  has 
been  banished,  I  do  not  wish  for  his  return,  for  this  would  almost 
certainly  lead  to  regrettable  acts  of  political  vengeance  on  his  part.^ 
But  it  was  not  every  honest  Florentine  who  would  draw  this  distinc- 
tion, or  who  would  feel  himself  in  duty  bound  to  stop  short  precisely 
at  this  point  of  political  moderation.  Who  could  seriously  blame  a 
man  for  thinking  that  as  Piero's  expulsion  had  been  a  blunder,  his 
restoration  would — all  things  considered — be  the  best  thing  for 
Florence ;  and  that,  in  all  probability,  this  restoration  would  some- 
how come  about  if  only  "  questo  benedetto  Frate  "  (as  Tranchedino 
calls  him)  would  leave  politics  alone  ?  ^  And  it  is  at  least  an  open 
question  whether  Piero's  return  in  1495  or  1496  might  not  have 
saved  the  republic  from  the  more  thorough-going  despotism  which 
followed  the  final  re-establishment  of  the  Medici  in  15 12. 

Nor  is  there  any  reason,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  to  doubt  that 
Piero  Capponi  and  some  at  least  of  his  friends  were  equally  honest 
in  their  misgivings  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  popular  government 
established  through  the  influence  of  the  Friar  ;4  equally  honest  in 
their  conviction  that  the  republic  had  never  known  better  days  than 

1  Guicciardini,  Del  Keg.,  pp.  26,  S^sqq.,  Sd  sqq.,  63,  105,  135. 

'"*  Guicciardini,  ibid.,  p.  107. 

^  Pilti  (p.  42)  bears  witness  that  many  of  the  common  people  secretly  desired 
the  return  of  Piero.  Can  we  be  sure  that  all  these  did  so  from  selfish  or  dishonest 
motives  ? 

*  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  pp.  50,  66,  133. 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTLNE  CONSTITUTION       175 

under  the  rule  of  the  Ottiiiiati  in  pre-Medicean  times;'  and  equally 
honest  hi  their  desire  to  bring  al)Out  a  change  which  they  deemed 
essential  to  the  welfare  of  the  State.  "  The  Arrabbiati,"  writes 
Cosci,  "  loved  their  country  and  freedom  no  less  than  did  the 
Frateschi,  and  perhaps  they  understood,  better  than  these  latter, 
what  was  for  her  honour  and  advantage."'-^ 

Both  parties,  however — that  of  the  Arrabbiati,  as  the  advocates 
of  an  aristocratic  government  were  nicknamed,  and  that  of  the 
Mediceans,  or  Palleschi — were  outvoted  in  the  debates,  or  Fratichcy 
of  X494-95.*  Or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  the  former,  represented  by 
Vespucci,  Capponi,  Nerli,  and  others,  were  outvoted,  and  the  latter 
had  not  sufficient  influence  among  the  people,  or  with  the  Collegio, 
to  allow  of  their  views  being  made  the  subject  of  a  vote.  And 
perhaps  it  was  better  so.  In  the  balance  of  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages, with  every  allowance  for  the  distinguished  services 
rendered  to  the  State  by  Cosimo  and  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  it  may 
very  reasonably  be  held  that  the  Medicean  scale  fairly  kicked  the 
beam.  But  it  is  one  thing  to  be  outvoted,  or  cast  in  a  political 
contest ;  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  be  prospectively  branded  as  a 
traitor,  and  to  hear  one's  opinions  characterised  as  those  of  an  enemy 
of  God  and  man.  Savonarola,  indeed,  disclaimed  ^1  concern  with 
party  politics.  He  declared  that  his  only  wish  was  to  see  all  parties 
united  in  a  kingdom  which  had  Christ  alone  for  its  head.*  But  this 
union,  as  he  conceived  it,  was  union  in  agreement  with  his  own 
political  views.^  In  his  invectives  against  the  Palleschi,  and  against 
those  advocates  of  the  governo  stretto  whom  he  did  not  hesitate  to 

^  Guicciardini,  Del  Reg.,  pp.  27,  31. 

^  Cosci,  p.  449. 

^  During  these  discussions,  and  for  some  time  afterwards,  the  Palleschi,  within 
the  walls  of  the  city,  played  a  waiting  game.  Partly,  perhaps,  out  of  gratitude  for 
the  amnesty,  but  principally  from  politic  motives,  they  attached  themselves  for  the 
present  to  the  professed  adherents  of  the  Friar  (Pitti,  p.  38).  They  thus  gained 
for  themselves,  as  has  been  said,  the  sobriquet  of  Bigi,  "  the  Greys."  It  was  no 
doubt  a  bitter  disappointment  to  Savonarola  when  he  found  that  many  of  those 
who  had  benefited  by  his  exhortations,  and  had  in  appearance  given  him  their 
support,  were  after  all  hostile  to  his  reforms  (c/!  Luotto,  pp.  364-65). 

*  "  Cristo  e  vestro  R6,  e  voi  siate  suoi  ministri  .  .  .  nessuno  si  chiami  piii 
biancki  o  bigi;  ma  tutti  insieme  uniti  siano  una  medesima  cosa"(S,  33  on  the 
Psalms  ;  Luotto,  pp.  356-57). 

'  "  Fate  quesio  die  to  ho  ditto  .  .  ,  e  siattvi  sopra  delta  conscienza  tnia  che  sari 
ben  fatto.  .  .  .  Questo  io  ve  le  dico  con  grande  fondamento,  e  cost  ifi'ipirato  da 
Dio,  fate  questc  bone  Icggi,  e  non  aviete  nemici  alcuni "  (^ific/.'). 


176  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

speak  of  as  ''ciuesti  Arrabbiati,"  Savonarola  appears  to  us  to  have 
put  himself  in  the  wrong,  and  to  have  injured  a  good  cause  by  over- 
vehement  advocacy.  The  exasperation  caused,  or  at  least  fomented 
by  his  discourses,  could  hardly  fail  to  drive  his  opponents  to 
extremities.^  No  one,  of  course,  would  wish  to  justify  the  violence 
of  the  Friar's  enemies,  or  to  deny  that  the  motives  of  many  of  his 
opponents,  whether  Palleschi  or  Arrabbiati,  were  of  the  most  un- 
worthy and  even  criminal  character.  But  any  one  who  will  be  at 
the  pains  to  study  the  works  of  Guicciardini  and  Pitti  can  hardly  fail 
to  be  convinced,  as  it  seems  to  us,  that  the  motives  of  many  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  supporters  were,  in  many  cases,  only  less  unworthy ;  and 
likewise  that  it  was  very  possible  to  be  conscientiously  persuaded  of 
the  unwisdom  of  the  constitutional  reforms  advocated  and  carried 
through  by  the  Friar. 

Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  in  the  years  of  Savonarola's 
political  activity,  domestic  politics  could  not  be  altogether  dissociated 
from  the  burning  question  of  the  League.  A  strong  party  in 
Florence  was  in  favour  of  the  coalition  ;  and  it  was  the  triumph  of 
the  popular  party  under  the  guidance  of  Fra  Girolamo  which  made 
it  possible  for  the  city  to  be  held  firm  to  her  alliance  with  France.^ 
And  thus  it  was  that  Savonarola's  activity  as  a  constitutional  reformer 
indirectly  helped  to  bring  him  into  conflict  with  the  Pope.  This 
was  a  result  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen  from  the  outset ;  but 
it  was  also  a  result  which  might  have  been  avoided  had  his  partisan- 
ship from  the  outset  been  less  pronounced. 

To  sum  up.  So  far  from  unconditionally  condemning  Savonarola 
for  interfering  in  political  matters,  we  believe  him  to  have  rendered 
a  signal  service  to  Florence  in  three  particulars ;  first,  by  protecting 
her  from  the  hostility  of  Charles  VIIL,  which  might  have  been  so 
easily  aroused,  and  thereby  from  the  still  greater  evils  arising  out  of 

^  "  Piagnoni  e  Arrabbiati  non  sarebbero  mai  stati  in  Firenze  se  il  Savonarola 
non  si  fosse  mosso  da  Ferrara"  (Cosci,  p.  461).  Lupi,  speaking  of  the  debates 
relative  to  Savonarola  held  in  1497  and  1498,  which  he  has  published,  says  truly 
that  they  clearly  exhibit  "  il  progresso  delle  passioni,  come  cioe  di  giorno  in  giorno 
riscaldandosi  le  parti,  era  da  ciascuno  sottomessa  la  ragione  al  talento,  come  dai 
dignitosi  e  moderati  contrasti  delle  prime  Pratiche  si  scendesse  poi  anche  ne' 
Consigli  a  quel  parlare  intollerante  solamente  usato  fin  qui  dai  cittadini  nel  segreto 
de'  loro  ritrovi  e  delle  loro  famiglie"  (pp.  4,  5).  The  reader  will  have  abundant 
opportunity  of  judging  how  far  Fra  Girolamo  himself  may  or  may  not  have  given 
occasion  to  "quel  parlare  intollerante"  of  which  Lupi  here  speaks. 

2  Hence  the  support  given  by  Sforza  to  the  enemies  of  the  popular  government 
(Pitti,  p.  38  ;  Cosci,  pp.  298,  449). 


TlIK  1-RIAR  AND   FLORENTINE  CONSTI  TU  TKJN'       \'n 

the  reprisals  which  his  hostility  would  certainly  have  provoked  ; 
secondly,  hy  preaching  peace  at  a  moment  which  the  violence  of 
party  feeling  made  to  be  one  of  supreme  danger  to  the  common- 
weal ;  thirdly,  by  helping  to  the  establishment  of  a  constitution, 
which  if  not  ideally  perfect,  was  at  least  in  accordance  with  the 
political  sentiments  of  the  great  majority  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
But  his  services  would  probably  have  been  greater  had  they  been 
dissociated  from  the  factitious  support  of  what  we  cannot  but  regard 
as  his  self-deluding  claim  to  be  regarded  as  having  been  divinely 
commissioned  to  carry  on  the  work  of  political  reform.  Florence 
would  have  enjoyed  his  presence  and  benefited  by  his  activity  for 
a  much  longer  period,  had  he  not,  in  his  enthusiasm,  over-reached 
those  high  and  noble  designs  which,  as  every  one  now  admits,  he 
had  ever  in  view.^ 

Before  passing  on  to  the  events  which  will  engage  our  attention 
in  the  next  chapter,  a  word  must  be  said  about  a  correspondence 
which  in  the  meanwhile  had  been  carried  on  concerning  Savonarola, 
and  in  which  he  had  himself  borne  a  part.  In  December  1494  he  had 
received  orders  to  preach  the  following  Lent  at  Lucca,  a  command 
which  was,  as  it  seems,  enforced  by  a  Papal  Brief.^  Nardi  and  others, 
followed  by  Villari,  are  of  opinion  that  this  order  was  due  to  the 
secret  machination  of  the  Friar's  enemies.  But  as  Guasti  and 
Cosci  have  suggested,  no  evidence  is  forthcoming  to  show  that  this 
was  really  the  case,  and  in  view  of  the  documents  brought  to  light  by 
Guasti  it  seems  to  us  extremely  improbable.^  Two  years  previously 
Fra  Girolamo  had  preached  at  Bologna,  and  nothing  was  more 
natural  than  that  the  authorities  at  Lucca  should  now  desire  his 
services,  or  that  Torriano,  the  General  of  the  Dominicans,  should 
comply  with  their  request.  That  the  authority  of  the  Pope  should 
be  involved  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  the  time, 
as  appears  from  what  followed.  That  Savonarola  should,  under  the 
circumstances,  have  been  loth  to  go,  yet  resolved  to  obey  (as 
Villari  has  shown  from  the  sermons  delivered  by  him  on  20th  and 
25th  January  1495),  is  also  quite  in  accordance  with  what  might 

'  "  Father  Lucas,"  writes  Mr  Armstrong,  "  thinks  that  the  Friar  would  have 
done  well  to  give  up  politics  at  an  earlier  date,  before  parties  had  formed  them- 
selves. We  are  disposed  to  go  yet  further.  [His]  religious  influence  might  have 
been  more  permanent  if  the  preacher  had  altogether  stood  aloof  from  politics.  .  .  . 
At  Florence  it  was  impossible  at  once  to  enter  politics  and  to  escape  from  parties" 
{^E.H.R.  xvi.  144). 

-Nardi  (i.  52-53)  is,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  the  only  authority  for  the 
existence  of  this  Brief,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  may  have  been  mistaken. 

*  Nardi,  loc.  cii, ;  Villari,  i.  353  ;  Guasii,  pp.  122  5^/, ;  Cosci,  pp.  399  s^g, 

M 


178  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

have  been  expected.^  But  the  people  of  Florence  had  no  mind  to 
lose  him,  even  for  the  moment,  and  Nardi  testifies,  and  to  this  at 
least  he  is  a  competent  witness,  that  the  expression  of  popular  feeling 
was  very  emphatic-  On  28th  December  the  Signory  wrote  to 
Alexander  VI.  to  obtain  from  him  a  precept  that  Fra  Girolamo  should 
remain  at  Florence,  and  this  letter  was  followed  by  another  from  the 
Ten  praying  the  Pope  to  command  him  to  preach  the  Lent  there. 
In  a  covering  letter  to  the  Florentine  ambassador  in  Rome  they  beg 
him  to  use  every  effort  to  obtain  from  the  Pope  a  Brief  to  this  effect.^ 
The  Brief,  or  at  least  a  revocation  of  the  command  to  preach  at 
Lucca,  was  obtained ;  Savonarola  sent  his  faithful  disciple,  Fra 
Domenico  da  Pescia,  to  preach  there  in  his  stead,  and  a  letter 
of  cordial  thanks  from  the  Anziani  of  Lucca,  for  the  services  of 
Domenico,  is  still  extant.*  The  Anziani,  however,  did  not  abandon 
the  hope  of  securing  Savonarola  as  the  lenten  preacher  for  the  year 
1496,  and  on  14th  March  they  wrote  to  him  to  express  their  desire.^ 
He  replied,  thanking  them  for  the  invitation,  adding  moreover  that 
he  recognised  in  their  wish  an  indication  of  God's  will  in  the  matter, 
and  that  he  would  certainly  comply  with  it  unless — as  he  greatly 
feared — some  fresh  hindrance  should  arise  to  prevent  him.''  Long 
before  the  Lent  came  round  Fra  Girolamo — as  will  appear  in  the 

^  It  can  hardly  be  said,  however,  that  he  expressed  with  a  very  good  grace  his 
readiness  to  obey.  "  lo  debbo  andare  a  Lucca,  e  di  la  forse  altrove,  secondo  gli 
ordini.  .  .  .  lo  parto,  perchfe  debbo  obbedire  agli  ordini,  e  non  voglio  generare 
scandalo  nella  vostra  citt^  "  (S.  7  on  the  Psalms,  Villari,  i.  354). 

2  "  Delia  qual  cosa  per  la  maggior  parte  degli  uomini  si  prese  grande  alterazione, 
percio  che  ...  si  giudicava  che  le  sue  prediche  fussero  molto  utili  alia  correzione 
de'  costumi,  e  necessarie  a  pacificare  insieme  gli  animi  discordanti,  etc."  (Nar<?], 

i-  53). 

'  The  first  and  last  of  these  letters  have  been  published  by  Guasti  (p.  123)  and 
Meier  {cf.  Villari,  p.  354),  but  the  letter  of  the  Ten  to  the  Pope  has  not  been 
brought  to  light.  Corbizi,  who  was  Gonfaloniere  in  January,  was  no  friend  to  Fra 
Girolamo  ;  but  this  was  not  the  only  occasion — as  will  hereafter  appear — on  which 
the  Ten  were  more  solicitous  on  his  behalf  than  the  Signory,  under  various  govern- 
ments {cf.  Nardi,  loc.  cit.  ;  Villari,  p.  355).  Villari's  remarks  (p.  356)  about  the 
readiness  shown  by  Alexander  VL  to  revoke  one  Brief  by  another  are  quite 
uncalled  for.  Such  revocations  are  necessarily  common.  A  favour  is  asked,  and 
granted.  Circumstances  subsequently  arise  which  make  it  desirable  to  recall 
what  has  been  conceded.     A  very  simple  matter. 

*  The  Anziani  to  Timotheo  Balbano,  21st  March,  1495  (Guasti,  p.  124). 

^  The  letter  is  given  by  Guasti,  p.  125. 

'  "  Quare  ni  nova  et  impedimenta  et  casus  emergant,  quae  ex  temporis  varietate 
ac  longinquit.ite  facillime  possent  accidere ;  iam  ego,  quantum  in  me  est,  V.  D. 
polliceor,  satis  me  esse  facturum  et  venturum,"  etc.(  Guasti,  loc.  cit.). 


THE  FRIAR  AND  FLORENTINE  CONSTITUTION       179 

next  chapter — had  been  inhibited  from  preaching  ;  and  the  extant 
correspondence  on  the  subject  closes  with  two  letters  from  the 
Anziani  to  Felino  Sandeo  and  Giovanni  Cliglio  at  Rome,  praying 
them  to  take  measures  that  notwithstanding  this  prohibition  they 
may  not  be  disappointed.^  What  the  reply  to  these  letters  may  have 
been  we  do  not  know,  but  Fra  Girolamo  did  not  preach  the  Lent  at 
Lucca. 

It  is  curious  that  when  the  Lucchesi  were  making  their  first 
efforts  to  secure  Savonarola  for  their  lenten  preacher,  similar  efforts 
were  being  made  by  Lodovico  Sforza  to  induce  da  Ponzo  to  preach 
during  the  same  season  at  Milan.  Castiglioni,  however,  his  envoy  at 
Florence,  writes  to  Sforza  that  da  Ponzo  does  not  wish  to  go,  being 
unwilling  that  the  Florentine  Republic  should  be  deprived  of  his 
assistance  in  these  first  days  of  her  reformed  constitution. ^ 

Possibly  it  might  have  been  better  for  Fra  Girolamo  and  da 
Ponzo  alike  if  both  of  them  had  absented  themselves  from 
Florence  at  the  time  when  the  factions  of  the  Arrabbiati,  the 
Palleschi,  and  the  Frateschi  were  in  process  of  formation.  Or 
rather,  if  they  had  thus  absented  themselves,  it  may  be  that  the 
bitter  dissensions  which  subsequently  divided  these  factions  would 
never  have  arisen,  or  would  at  least  have  been  less  acute.' 

^  Guasti,  pp.  125-26. 

^  Da  Ponzo  declined,  "allegando  due  respecti  ;  I'uno  per  recuperare  la  fama 
el  honore  suo  per  la  detentione  che  li  fu  facta  ad  Sarenzana  alli  di  passati  ;  I'altro 
per  non  manchare  ad  questa  Repubiica  nel  principio  de  questa  sua  reformatione  " 
(Castiglioni  to  Sforza,  24ih  January  1495  ;  Cappelli,  n.  35). 

*  Mr  Armstrong  (£.//./?.  xvi.  144)  has  observed  that  the  account  of  the 
changes  in  the  Florentine  constitution  given  in  this  chapter,  as  it  stood  in  the 
first  edition,  is  "faulty,"  We  cannot,  however,  plead  guilty  to  the  charge  of 
having  asserted  that  "that  the  Ten  of  War  were  abolished"  (!),  or — except  by 
an  oversight  in  the  Index— that  "the  Collegio  consisted  of  the  Signory  and  the 
Buonuomini."  But  we  have  profited  by  his  criticism  to  supply,  on  p.  158, 
an  omission  (the  abolition  of  the  Councils  of  the  Popolo  and  the  Comune)^ 
to  which  he  has  called  attention;  and  on  p.  150  we  have  made  more  explicit, 
and  as  we  hope,  more  accurate,  the  statement  about  the  Collegio.  It  should 
have  been  added  that  the  members  of  the  Great  Council  were  divided  into 
three  sets,  each  of  which  served  during  a  period  of  four  months.  How  far  we 
have  been  from  overlooking  the  importance  of  "the  Ten  "  {cf.  p.  151),  under  the 
new  constitution  may  be  seen  from  sundry  of  the  passages  to  which  reference  is 
made  in  the  Index,  p.  471,  s.  v.     See,  in  particular,  pp.  197,  302,  317-18. 


CHAPTER  X 

PROPHET    A\D    POPE    (l) 

WE  have  now  reached  that  point  in  our  review  of  the  career  of 
Savonarola  at  which  it  becomes  necessary  to  consider  his 
relations  with  the  Pope,  Alexander  VI.  The  subject  is  obviously 
one  of  considerable  difficulty,  and  it  is  above  all  important  that 
whatever  verdict  is  finally  arrived  at  should  be  based  upon  an 
adequate  acquaintance  with  the  whole  of  the  series  of  letters  which 
passed  between  the  Pope  and  the  Friar,  and  not  upon  selected 
extracts  from  one  or  another  of  these  documents.^ 

The  series  opens  with  a  Brief  of  Alexander  VI.,  dated  21st  July 
1495  :— 

The  Pope  has  heard  many  reports  of  the  apostolic  labours  of  Fra 
Girolamo,  whereat  he  greatly  rejoices.  And  he  has  further  learned, 
within  the  last  few  days,  from  Savonarola  himself,  that  the  object  of  his 
preaching  is  to  promote  to  the  utmost  the  service  of  God.  But  he  has 
also  recently  been  informed  that  in  his  sermons  the  Friar  has  declared 
that  his  predictions  of  future  events  come  not  from  himself  nor  from 
human  wisdom,  but  "  by  a  divine  revelation."  This  being  so,  the  Pope 
continues:  "We  are  desirous,  in  accordance  with  our  pastoral  duty,  to 
have  some  conversation  with  you,  and  to  hear  from  your  own  lips  what 
it  has  pleased  God  to  make  known  to  you,  that  we  may  pursue  a  better 
course.  We  therefore  exhort  and  command  you  that,  in  all  holy  obedience, 
you  come  to  us  without  delay  ;  and  we  shall  receive  you  with  paternal 
love  and  charity." 

So,  except  for  the  date  and  subscription,  ends  the  letter.^  It 
is,  of  course,  easy  to  speak  of  the  "  honied  words  "  of  the  Pope,  and 
to  suggest  that  the  invitation  somewhat  resembled  that  of  the  spider 
to  the  fly.    But  having  regard  to  the  subsequent  action  of  the  Pope, 

1  Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this  book,  the  letters  have  been 
made  accessible  to  the  English  reader  in  the  monograph  by  Father  J.  L. 
O'Neil,  O.P.,  entitled,    Was  Savonarola  really  Excommunicated  f 

'^  Villari,  i.  393  ;  Append,  p.  civ. ;  Luotto,  p.  446. 
180 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  l8l 

at  least  down  to  1498,  we  sec  no  reason  whatever  to  suppose  that 
the  Friar  had  anything  worse  to  fear  from  him  than  that  he  would 
have  been  prohibited  from  continuing  to  set  forth  his  prophetic 
mission,  and  from  publicly  opposing  the  papal  policy  in  regard  of 
the  League.  That  he  would,  further,  have  been  removed  from 
Florence  is  likely  enough  ;  but  there  were  other  cities  in  Italy  which 
might  have  profited  by  his  moral  and  dogmatic  teaching,  and  in 
which  he  might  himself  have  learned  the  lesson  that  Florence  is  not, 
after  all,  the  centre  of  all  the  world,  and  that  the  people  of  Florence 
had  no  claim  whatsoever  to  be  regarded  as  a  specially  chosen 
nation. 

Savonarola,  however,  replied  (31st  July)  by  reminding  the  Pope  of 
a  well-known  passage  in  the  Decretals,  in  which  Alexander  III.  had 
called  upon  the  then  Archbishop  of  Ravenna  "  either  reverently  [to] 
fulfil  our  command  or  give  a  reasonable  excuse  why  you  cannot 
fulfil  it."     And  he  proceeds  to  give  his  own  reasonable  excuse  : — 

He  has  long  desired  to  visit  Rome,  and  to  venerate  the  tombs  of 
the  Apostles  ;  and  this  desire  is  increased  by  his  Holiness'  gracious 
summons.  "  But  many  obstacles  stand  in  the  way,"  by  which  he  is 
detained  by  necessity  against  his  will,  and  is  unable  to  obey  a  precept 
the  authority  of  which  he  most  willingly  and  reverently  acknowledges. 
"  Bodily  infirmity  is  the  first  obstacle,  caused  by  fever  and  dysentery 
.  .  .  [and  by]  a  constant  agitation  in  body  and  mind,  brought  on  by 
exertions  for  the  welfare  of  this  State  ...  so  much  so  that  I  am 
advised  by  my  physicians  to  give  over  preaching  and  study  ;  for  they 
and  others  are  agreed  that  unless  I  subiiwt  to  proper  remedies,  I  run 
the  risk  of  an  early  death." 

We  may  observe,  in  passing,  that  only  three  days  before  the 
date  of  this  letter,  and  presumably  not  before  the  receipt  of  the 
Papal  Brief,  Savonarola  had  preached  that  exceedingly  vehement 
discourse  against  the  Parlamento  which  has  been  already  quoted. 
He  did  so,  however,  as  he  told  his  hearers,  against  the  advice  of 
his  physicians,  and  for  some  time  subsequently  he  abstained  from 
preaching.^ 

Moreover,  he  continues,  whereas  he  has  saved  the  city  from  much 
bloodshed,  and  from  many  other  evils,  and  has  established  her  in  peace 
under  holy  laws  ("ridottala  a  concordia  e  sante  leggi  ")  many  wicked 
men,  who  thirst  for  human  blood  and  would  fain  reduce  the  city 
to  servitude,  and  who  find  their  plans  frustrated,  have  turned  their 
enmity  against  himself.     Nay,  they  have  more  than  once  attempted  his 

*  Luutto,  pp.  450-51, 


i82  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

life  by  violence  and  by  poison  ;  and  he  cannot  safely  set  foot  outside  the 
house  without  a  strong  escort.  Furthermore,  the  new  reform  of  the 
city  has  not  yet  taken  deep  root,  and  is  in  need  of  continual  support,  lest 
it  be  brought  to  ruin  by  the  evil  designs  of  its  enemies.  Wherefore,  it 
is  the  judgment  of  "all  good  and  wise  citizens  that  my  departure  from 
hence  would  be  to  the  very  great  detriment  of  this  people,  while  it 
would  be  of  little  advantage  cost}" — t'.e  at  Rome.  He  trusts  that  his 
Holiness  will  tolerate  a  brief  delay,  until  the  work  which  has  been 
begun  shall  have  been  brought  to  its  completion  ;  and  he  has  no  doubt 
that  for  the  good  of  the  city  God  has  willed  that  the  aforesaid  obstacles 
should  stand  in  the  way  of  his  journey.  In  a  word,  it  is  God's  will  that 
he  should  not  leave  Florence  at  present.^  But  he  hopes  that  it  may 
soon  be  possible  to  go  to  Rome,  in  accordance  with  the  desires  of  his 
Holiness.  Meanwhile,  since  the  Pope  has  expressed  the  desire  to  be 
more  fully  informed  concerning  his  predictions  regarding  the  calamities 
of  Italy  and  the  renovation  of  the  Church,  he  may  learn  all  that  is  to 
be  known  about  the  matter  ("potra  saperle  pienamente")  from  a  little 
book  which  he  is  printing,  and  of  which  he  will  send  a  copy  as  soon  as 
it  is  ready.  More  than  is  contained  in  this  book  (the  Compendium 
Revelationitm)  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  utter,  for  he  has  set  down  in  it  only 
those  things  which  he  has  been  commanded  to  make  known.  As  to 
those  things  which  have  been  confided  to  him  under  secrecy  ("quelle 
che  devono  restare  nell'arca")  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  reveal  them  to 
any  mortal.  The  other  things  he  has  committed  to  writing  in  order  that, 
if  they  do  not  come  to  pass,  all  the  world  may  know  that  he  is  a  false 
prophet ;  and  that  if  they  do  come  to  pass  as  they  have  been  foretold, 
thanks  may  be  given  to  God,  who  has  shown  Himself  so  earnestly  desirous 
of  our  salvation.  In  conclusion,  he  once  more  requests  that  his  Holiness 
will  deign  to  accept  his  excuses,  founded  as  they  are  on  true  and 
manifest  reasons  ;  and  that  he  will  not  lay  upon  his  shoulders  a  burden 
beyond  his  strength.  As  soon  as  ever  it  shall  be  possible  he  will  be 
eager  to  fulfil  the  wishes  of  his  Holiness,  to  whom  he  humbly  commends 
himself. 

Now  it  must  be  admitted,  we  think,  that  two  at  least  of  the 
reasons  alleged  by  Savonarola  for  delaying  (not  refusing)  to  comply 
with  the  Pope's  commands  were  in  themselves  true  and  sufficient. 
There  can  be  no  question  as  to  his  ill  health,  to  which  he  frequently 
alludes  in  the  sermons  preached  shortly  before  this  time;  and  the 
dangers  which  a  journey  to  Rome  would  have  entailed  upon  him 
were  no  less  real.  The  road  was  beset  with  the  emissaries  of  "  the 
Moor"  Sforza;  and  in  the  holy  city  itself  the  agents  of  Piero  de 

^  "  Per  vantaggio  della  quale  (opera),  io  ne  sono  certo,  fu  volere  divino  che 
nascessero  questi  impedimenti  al  mio  partire.  Imperocche  non  ^  volunta  di  Dio 
che  al presente  mi parta  di  ijiti.^'  The  letter  is  given  Ijy  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  cv,, 
and  by  Luolto,  pp.  447-49. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  183 

Medici  were  powerful  and  reckless  enough  to  be  capable  of  any 
crime.^  The  third  reason,  viz.  the  importance  of  his  remaining 
at  Florence  for  the  good  of  the  city,  is  one  which  is,  to  say  the 
least,  of  more  doubtful  validity ;  but  we  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
it  was  put  forth  by  Fra  Girolamo  in  all  good  faith. 

It  is  possible  indeed  that  a  man  of  heroic  sanctity  would  have  con- 
trived to  overcome  the  obstacles  alleged  in  Savonarola's  letter ;  and 
that  such  a  man  would  have  faced  all  dangers,  and  taken  all  risks, 
rather  than  interpose  any  delay  in  complying  with  the  Pope's 
commands.  But  no  man  is  bound  to  be  a  saint,  and  heroic  virtue 
lies  outside  the  obligations  of  canonical  obedience.  We  set  aside  as 
unworthy  of  serious  consideration  the  hypothesis  that  both  letters 
are  nothing  better  than  monuments  of  Italian  finesse,  and  that 
neither  party  disclosed  the  motives  which  really  actuated  them. 
Alexander  VI.  was  capable  no  doubt  of  almost  any  baseness  when 
the  motive  was  sufficiently  powerful.  But  he  was  not  entirely  dead 
to  all  sense  of  duty  where  his  own  lower  passions  were  not 
directly  engaged.  At  the  moment  he  was  engaged  in  the  design, 
objectively  patriotic  and  apparently  wise,  of  liberating  Italy  from  the 
disastrous  presence  of  a  foreign  invader ;  and  when  he  found  his 
efforts  frustrated  by  one  who  claimed  a  divine  authority  for  his 
opposition,  the  very  least  he  could  do  was  to  enquire  into  the  truth 
of  the  alleged  divine  authority.  The  Brief  which  we  have  sum- 
marised above  was  such  as  S.  Pius  V.  himself  might  have 
written,  and  probably  would  have  written,  under  analogous 
circumstances.  On  the  other  hand,  it  were  a  poor  compliment,  and 
indeed  a  grave  injustice  to  Savonarola,  to  suggest  that  in  his  letter  he 
was  merely  temporising  and  throwing  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  Pope. 

But  although  Fra  Girolamo  must  be  exonerated  from  the  charge 
of  disobedience,  so  far  at  least  as  concerns  the  letter  which  we  have 
summarised,  and  also  from  that  of  insincerity,  it  seems  to  us  that 
the  letter  sets  in  a  very  clear  light  that  fundamental  flaw  in  his 
character  to  which  we  have  so  often  had  occasion  to  refer.  Not 
content  with  alleging  his  "  reasonable  excuses,"  which  he  was 
entitled  to  do,  he  is  "  certain  "  that  it  is  not  God's  will  that  he 
should  go  to  Rome.  And  instead  of  submitting  his  prophecies  to 
the  judgment  of  the  Holy  See,  he  sends — or  will  send — his  book 
for  the  Pope's  information.  And  somehow  his  challenge  to  all  the 
world  to  judge  from  the  event  whether  he  be  a  true  prophet  or  no 
'  Schnitzer,  H.P.B.  xxi.  636. 


1 84  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

seems  to  strike  a  note  which  is  hardly  that  of  genuine  humihty. 
There  is,  too,  a  naive  assumption  of  the  correctness  of  his  own 
iudgment  in  his  assertion  that  "all  good  and  wise  citizens"  are 
of  opinion  that  he  should  stay  at  Florence.  The  good  and  the 
wise  were,  of  course,  those  who  supported  his  scheme  of  popular 
government.  That  he  had  on  his  side  a  majority  of  those  who 
deserved  these  laudatory  epithets  we  do  not  doubt ;  but  were  there 
none  such  among  the  congregations  which  frequented — not  the 
Duomo  or  S.  Marco— but  Santa  Croce,  or  Santa  Maria  Novella,  or 
San  Gallo  ?  Were  there  none,  even  of  the  "  good  and  wise,"  who 
would  have  experienced  some  relief  from  the  tension  of  the  times 
had  Fra  Girolamo  quietly  gone  to  Rome,  as  soon  as  his  health 
permitted,  in  1495,  instead  of  persevering  in  that  course  of  pro- 
phesying which  led  to  his  tragic  end  in  1498? 

Unfortunately,  the  letter  appears  not  to  have  reached  the  Pope  at 
the  time.  This  at  least  seems  to  be  implied  by  Savonarola's  words 
in  his  next  letter  ("  I  wonder  that  your  Holiness  should  not  have 
received  my  reply  "),  unless  indeed  we  are  to  suppose  that  in  saying 
this  he  was  speaking  ironically  ;  as  if  the  language  of  the  Pope's 
second  Brief  could  be  reasonably  accounted  for  on  no  other  hypothesis 
than  that  of  the  miscarriage  of  his  reply  to  the  first.  At  any  rate  if, 
as  Fra  Girolamo  suggests,  the  letter  was  indeed  intercepted,  the 
supposed  silence  of  the  Friar  would— as  Luotto  observes— go  far  to 
account  for  the  very  severe  tone  of  the  next  document  in  the  series,^ 
without  recourse  to  the  political  motives  to  which  the  change  of  tone 
is  referred  by  Dr  Schnitzer.^ 

However  this  may  be,  on  8th  September  was  despatched  the 
Brief  Quia  divini  consiHi,  which  now  claims  our  attention.  By  a 
strange  blunder  it  was  addressed,  not  to  the  convent  of  S.  Marco, 
but  to  that  of  the  Friars  Minor  at  Santa  Croce,  who  were  certainly 
not  on  the  best  of  terms  with  Fra  Girolamo.^^  The  text  of  the  Brief 
is  given  by  Qu^tif  and  Raynaldus,  and  has  recently  been  reprinted 
from  an  older  MS.  by  Luotto.* 

1  Luotto,  p.  457. 

2  Schnitzer,  p.  647. 

2  Fra  Girolamo  himself  treats  the  address  of  the  letter  as  a  mistake  (S.  2  on 
Exodus  ;  Luotto,  p.  465).  And,  indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  the  motive 
could  have  been  for  sending  such  a  document  to  Santa  Croce,  unless  indeed  it 
were  to  avoid  the  risk  of  interception.  Luotto  is  inclined  to  believe  it  "  un  sem- 
plice  sbaglio  di  penna  "  {loc.  cit. ). 

••  Quetif  and  Raynaldus  give  the  altogether  erroneous  and  misleading  date, 
l6lh  October   1497.     'I'he  chronology  of  the  doi  uments  has  been  settled  beyonc| 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  185 

"  It  is  our  duty  [says  the  Pope]  to  encourage  everything  which  tends 
to  promote  the  piety,  welfare,  and  peace  of  the  faithful,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  chastise  with  due  severity  novelties  in  teaching  concealed  under 
the  cloak  of  a  false  simplicity,  whereby  schisms,  heresies,  and  other  dis- 
orders ('morum  subversio')  are  wont  to  arise.  We  are  informed  that  a 
certain  F^ra  Hieronymo  Savonarola  of  Ferrara  indulges  in  such  novelties, 
and  that  he  has  been  led  by  the  disturbed  condition  of  affairs  in  Italy 
to  such  a  pilch  of  folly  ('mentis  insaniam")  as  openly  to  declare, 
without  any  canonical  attestation  of  the  fact,  that  he  has  been  sent  by 
God,  and  that  he  holds  converse  with  Him.  Now,  it  is  not  enough  for 
any  one  simply  to  declare  that  he  has  been  sent  by  God,  for  any  heretic 
might  assert  this  ;  but  he  must  confirm  this  alleged  divine  mission, 
which  itself  is  invisible,  either  by  working  a  miracle,  or  by  adducing 
some  special  testimony  of  Holy  Scripture.*  Moreover,  to  declare 
that  if  one  speaks  falsely,  then  Jesus  crucified  and  God  Himself  speaks 
falsely,  is  certainly  a  horrible  and  execrable  form  of  adjuration.  It  is 
also  not  to  be  borne  that  he  should  declare  that  any  one  who  does  not 
believe  his  \'ain  assertions  is  out  of  the  way  of  salvation.  There  are 
other  things  said  and  written  by  the  Friar  which  are  full  of  danger,  for 
there  is  reason  to  fear  lest  the  rashness  of  '  false  religious '  should  know 
no  bounds,  and  lest  vice  should  make  an  entrance  into  the  Church  under 
the  appearance  of  virtue."-'  We  had  hoped  by  patient  forbearance  to 
persuade  him  to  acknowledge  the  folly  of  the  profession  of  prophecy 
which  he  makes  ;  we  had  hoped  that  he  would  bend  his  steps  into  the 
way  of  solid  truth,  and  that  he  would  withdraw,  as  prudence  and  fidelity 
should  have  prompted  him  to  do,  the  rash  and  unhallowed  words  which 
have  been  the  means  of  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  Church.  We  had 
hoped,  in  a  word,  for  better  things,  and  in  particular  that  the  sorrow 
which  we  had  heretofore  suffered  from  his  unbridled  arrogance,  and  from 
the  scandalous  separation  (of  his  convent)  from  the  congregation  of 
his  brethren  in  Lombardy — a  separation  which,  as  we  have  since  learned, 
was  obtained  by  the  deceitful  machinations  of  certain  perverse  friars- 
would  ere   now  have   been    turned   to  joy  by  his   humble   submission.'' 


dispute  by  Gherardi  (pp.  3S6  sqq.).  The  text  is  in  Luotto  (pp.  606  sqq.).  In  one 
case,  however,  the  punctuation  of  Luotto's  MS.  entirely  spoils  the  sense,  which  is 
correctly  exjHessed  in  Raynaldus'  text.     In  that  instance  we  follow  Raynaldus. 

1  It  is  dilacult  to  conceive  what  kind  of  "  special  testimony  of  Holy  Scripture  " 
could  possibly  be  adduced  in  such  a  case.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  easy  to 
understand  jirecisely  what  Savonarola  intended  to  express  when  he  spoke  of  his 
own  prophecies  as  being  in  accordance  with  Scripture. 

-  A  fine  sentiment,  surely,  for  a  man  like  Alexander  VI. 

'  It  will  be  remembered  that  after  many  negotiations  Cardinal  Caraffa  had 
fairly  worried  the  Pope  into  putting  his  signature  to  the  Brief  of  separation,  and 
that  as  he  left  the  palace  he  had  met  the  messengers  of  the  opposing  party  on  their 
way  to  make  fresh  representations  to  the  Pope.  {See  above,  p.  97.)  It  is  to  this 
incident  thai  allusion  is  made  in  the  present  Brief. 


i86  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

But  our  hopes  have  been  disappointed.  For  whereas  we  ordered  him 
to  come  to  Rome,  he  has  not  only  refused  to  obey,  but  has  impudently 
spread  abroad  in  writing  those  same  things  which  he  had  already  rashly 

uttered. 

"  Wherefore,  as  we  are  ourselves  occupied  with  other  matters,  we  have 
committed  the  whole  case  to  Fra  Sebastian  de  Madiis  (Blessed  Sebastian 
Maggi),  the  Vicar-General  of  the  Order  of  Friars  Preachers  in  Lom- 
bardy."  Pending  the  examination  of  the  case,  Fra  Girolamo  is  inhibited 
from  preaching.  The  Convents  of  S.  Marco  at  Florence  and  S.  Domenico 
at  Fiesole  are  hereby  reunited  to  the  Lombard  Congregation.  The  Friars 
Domenico  (Buonvicino)  da  Pescia,  Tommaso  Bussino,  and  Silvestro 
(Maruffi)  da  Firenze,  are  to  proceed  without  delay  to  Bologna,  and  to 
be  severally  assigned  to  convents  of  their  Order  outside  of  the  Florentine 
territory. 

The  Brief  was  immediately  followed  by  another  (gth  September 
1495),  Quam  multa  et  varia,  addressed  to  Maggi  : — 

The  Pope  has  heard  news  of  Fra  Girolamo  which  greatly  disturbs 
him.  The  Friar,  it  is  affirmed,  utters  things  which  are  "  a  nostra  religione 
et  humana  facultate  penitus  aliena,"  and  are  full  of  danger.  He  has 
refused  to  obey  the  summons  to  Rome.  "Whence  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  he  does  not  walk  according  to  the  law  of  God,  which  prescribes 
obedience  and  humility."  Wherefore  Maggi  is  commanded  to  enquire 
diligently  into  the  matter,  and  either  himself  to  pass  sentence,  according 
to  the  statutes  of  his  Order,  or  else  to  report  on  the  matter  to  the 
Pope.  He  is  further  informed  that  the  Convents  of  S.  Marco  and  S. 
Domenico  are  once  more  placed  under  his  obedience,  being  reunited 
to  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy. 

This  document  has  been  brought  to  light  by  Luotto.^  and  it  is 
noteworthy  that  it  speaks  of  the  Brief  Quia  divini  consilii  as 
addressed  to  S.  Marco,  not  to  Santa  Croce.  The  address  to  Santa 
Croce  must  therefore  have  been,  as  has  been  said,  a  mere  clerical 
blunder. 

How  far  the  former  of  these  papal  utterances  (the  Brief  Quia 
divini  consilii)  was  or  was  not  justified  in  its  representation  of  the 
facts  of  the  case  is  a  question  which  may  be  most  conveniently 
discussed  in  the  light  of  Fra  Girolamo's  answer,  dated  29th  Sep- 
tember 1495,  which  is  also  given  by  Raynaldus,  but  under  the 
altogether  misleading  date  29th  October  1497. 

"We  received  yesterday  [writes  the  Friar]  the  Brief  in  which  it  is 
intimated  to  us  that  the  two  Convents  of  S.  Marco  and  of  S.  Domenico 
(at   Fiesole)  are  reunited   to  the  Congregation   of   Lombardy,  and   in 

*  Luutio,  pp.  605-6. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  187 

which  three  of  our  brethren  are  ordered  to  proceed  to  l{()lof,'na,  and  in 
which  I,  Hieronymo  Savonarola,  am  accused  of  having  said  nuiny  fooUsh 
and  scandalous  things,  and  of  having  publicly  preached  them  to  the 
people.  Further,  by  other  letters  {i.e.  the  Brief  Quain  uiiilta  et  varia\ 
my  case  is  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  Vicar-General  of  the  afore- 
said Congregation.  These  documents  I  have  received  in  a  good  spirit, 
and  with  the  reverence  due  to  them,  for  they  show  that  your  Holiness  is 
solicitous  for  the  good  estate  of  the  Church,  and  for  the  welfare  of  our 
souls.  At  the  same  time  I  am  deeply  grieved  that  the  malice  of  men 
should  have  gone  to  such  lengths,  that  certain  persons  have  not  scrupled 
to  suggest  to  your  Holiness  a  letter  so  full  of  false  statements  and  perverse 
interpretations  (of  my  conduct  and  motives).  Your  Holiness  will,  there- 
fore, bear  with  me  if  I  speak  in  my  own  defence,  since  I  am  the  person 
who  is  principally  affected.  Nor  will  this  be  difficult,  since  I  have 
spoken  openly  before  the  world,  and  I  have  ever  taught  in  the 
church  and  in  the  temple,  and  in  secret  I  have  spoken  nothing.* 
Hence  I  have  so  many  thousands  of  witnesses  that  I  make  no  doubt 
that  I  shall  be  able  to  defend  myself  without  difficulty. 

"  My  enemies,  then,  have  suggested  in  the  first  instance,  that  I  take 
delight  in  novelties  of  doctrine.  This  is  plainly  false,  for  it  is  known  to 
all  that  in  my  preaching  1  have  followed  only  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and 
the  approved  Doctors  of  the  Church  ;  and  that  I  have  often  said,  and 
have  set  it  do7vn  in  writing.,  that  I  submit  myself  and  all  my  concerns  to 
the  Holy  Roman  Church.  This,  too,  if  I  mistake  not,  I  have  signified 
to  your  Holiness  in  a  certain  letter  of  mine,  of  which,  also,  your  Holiness 
has  made  mention  in  a  former  Brief  addressed  to  me.^  And  if  it  be 
said  that  to  predict  future  things  is  to  introduce  a  new  dogma,  this  is 
false,  for  such  predictions  have  been  made  in  every  age.  For  to  predict 
future  events  is  in  nowise  contrary  to  the  Christian  religion,  provided  that 
such  predictions  are  not  contrary  to  faith  or  morals,  or  to  natural  reason  ; 
nor  has  this  ever  been  forbidden.,  nor  cati  it  be  forbidden;  for  this  were  to 
impose  a  law  upon  God  Himself  who  declares  by  Amos  that  'The 
Lord  God  hath  done  nothing  without  revealing  His  secrets  to  His 
servants  the  prophets.' " 

While,  then,  Savonarola  professes  to  have  submitted  himself  and 
all  his  concerns  to  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  he  at  the  same  time 
declares  his  independence  of  all  authority  in  the  very  matter  con- 
cerning which  submission  had  been,  or  might  be,  demanded  of  him. 
He  wrote,  we  believe,  in  good  faith.  But  the  attitude  of  mind 
which  his  words  disclose  surely  constitutes  ground  enough,  apart 
from  all  political  reasons  and  personal  considerations,  for  the  Pope's 

*  He  had,  however,  privately  written  to  the  King  of  France,  when  the  latter 
was  in  Rome,  encouraging  him,  in  God's  name,  to  take  in  hand  ihe  reform  of 
the  Church.     See  above,  pp.  141  S(/q. 

'  This  letter,  as  has  been  said,  has  not  been  biDught  to  light, 


i88  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

intervention.  A  man  may  be  the  innocent,  or  only  partially  culpable, 
victim  of  his  own  error  of  judgment,  but  his  innocence,  or  the 
comparatively  small  degree  of  his  guilt,  is  no  reason  why  his  error 
should  not  be  corrected.  It  was  not  so  much  the  things  which  he 
prophesied  as  the  claim  to  be  the  judge  of  his  own  prophetical 
mission  which  gave  cause  for  repressive  measures. 

It  is  not  true  that  the  perturbed  condition  of  affairs  in  Italy  has 
deranged  his  mind.  His  predictions  had  commenced  five,  nay  ten, 
years  pieviously,  long  before  any  disturbance  had  arisen. 

Here  he  seems  to  have  been  justified,  to  some  extent,  in  his  plea. 
But  the  point  is  a  minor  one  ;  and  the  Pope  might  still  urge  that 
the  stirring  events  of  the  time  had  stimulated  the  Friar  to  what  he 
regarded  as  fresh  extravagances.  It  was  possible  that  Alexander 
might  have  been  mistaken.  Savonarola  was  certainly  mistaken,  to 
say  the  least,  in  his  assertion  of  what  we  may  call  prophetical 
independence.  Was  it  an  error  into  which  a  man  of  deep  humility 
would  have  fallen  ? 

It  is  not  true  that  he  has  professed  to  have  been  sent  by  God.  All 
who  have  heard  him  know  that  he  has  never  said  this  ;  and  in  his 
writings,  which  may  be  read  by  all,  he  has  set  it  down  that  he  has  been 
sent  by  his  superiors,  like  most  other  preachers.  Thousands  can  bear 
witness  that  he  has  never  asserted  that  he  was  sent  by  God  alone  ;  and 
he  has  never  asserted  that  he  converses  with  God. 

But  he  had  plainly  declared,  in  his  former  letter  to  the  Pope 
himself,  that  God  had  commanded  him  to  make  known  certain 
things.  He  had  declared  in  this  very  letter  that  no  one  had  any 
right  to  prohibit  his  predictions,  for  which  therefore  he  claimed 
divine  authority.  He  had  explicitly  taken  as  true  of  himself  the 
words  addressed  by  God  to  Ezechiel :  "  Behold  I  have  set  thee  as  a 
watchman  in  the  midst  of  the  land,"  and  the  rest.  To  say  now  that 
he  had  never  claimed  to  have  his  mission  from  God  alone,  seems  to 
us  very  like  a  subterfuge.  So  too,  it  might  be  perfecdy  true  that 
he  had  never  said,  in  so  many  words :  "  I  converse  with  God." 
But,  to  name  only  one  instance,  he  had  in  his  nineteenth  sermon 
on  Aggaeus,  delivered  less  than  a  year  previously  to  the  date  of  this 
present  letter,  narrated  in  detail  a  long  colloquy,  in  which  God  had 
bidden  him  to  give  to  the  people  of  Florence  a  sound  system  of 
government. 

But  even  if  he  had  said  so  he  would  have  incurred  no  penalty  ;  for 
there  is  no  word  to  any  such  effect  either  in  Iloly  Writ  or  in  the  whole 


PROPHET  AND  PUPE  189 

of  the  Canon  or  Civil  Law.  And  to  make  such  a  law  ^declaring  it  to  be 
unlawful  to  profess  to  hold  converse  with  God)  would  be  foolish  and 
wicked.  For  no  one  can  impose  a  law  upon  God,  who  is  free  to 
converse  with  whom  He  will,  and  to  bid  those  with  whom  He  converses 
to  say  :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,"  as  the  prophets  said  of  old. 

A  distinction,  after  the  fashion  of  the  schools,  seems  to  be  here 
necessary.  God  is  free  to  converse  with  whom  He  will  :  Yes.  The 
man  who  believes  himself  to  be  the  subject  of  such  divine  com- 
munications is  at  liberty  to  proclaim  them  irrespectively  of  the 
ecclesiastical  authority  instituted  by  God  Himself:  No.  Savonarola's 
teaching  on  this  head,  as  expressed  in  this  letter,  is  plainly  subversive 
of  ecclesiastical  order  and  discipline.  This  letter,  we  may  add,  is  not 
among  those  writings  of  Fra  Girolamo  which  have  been  declared  to 
be  free  from  dogmatic  or  moral  error. 

He  has  not  used  the  form  of  adjuration  attributed  to  him  in  the 
Brief.  He  has  only  spoken  hypothetically  ('in  casu  tanlum');  that  is 
to  say,  after  declaring  certain  truths  which  Christ  has  made  known  to 
him,  he  has  sometimes  added  :  "  If  I  speak  falsely,  then  Christ  speaketh 
falsely." 

And  this  is  precisely  what  the  Pope  had  charged  him  with  doing. 
Whether  such  a  form  of  adjuration  deserves  to  be  called  "  horrendum 
et  execrabile  "  appears  to  be  a  question  of  taste  in  the  "  derange- 
ment of  epitaphs."     The  form  of  words  surely  cannot  be  justified. 

He  has  never  said  that  whoever  does  not  believe  in  his  assertions  is 
out  of  the  way  of  salvation.  But  knowing  many  of  his  predictions  to  be 
from  God,  he  has  said  that  if  any  one  obstinately  refuses  to  believe  them, 
and  has  made  up  his  mind  to  contradict  them,  this  is  a  sign  that  he  is 
not  in  the  state  of  grace  (e.xtra  gratiam  sit)  ;  for  grace  always  inclines 
the  mind  to  the  truth,  and,  therefore,  he  who  is  in  a  state  of  grace 
cannot  go  against  the  truth.  But  as  for  those  who  contradict  his 
assertions  without  obstinacy,  he  has  said  and  written  that  they  may  be 
in  the  state  of  grace  ;  nor  has  he  said  that  to  contradict  him  is  a  sin, 
but  only  that  under  certain  conditions  it  is  a  sign  that  a  man  is  in  a 
state  of  sin. 

With  all  allowance  for  the  Friar's  explanations,  we  do  not  see 
how  his  proposition  can  be  cleared  from  the  charge  of  rashness. 
The  interpretation  put  upon  it  in  the  Brief,  even  though  not  strictly 
correct,  is  that  which  the  average  hearer  or  reader  would  inevitably 
have  put  upon  it ;  and  if  this  is  so,  then  Fra  Girolamo's  words  were 
open  to  censure. 


igo  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

He  has  not  uttered  foolish  or  scandalous  things,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
things  which  greatly  tended  to  the  salvation  of  souls,  as  the  whole 
people  of  Florence  can  testify. 

The  Pope  had  never  denied,  on  the  contrary,  he  had  fully 
recognised  the  good  qualities  of  Fra  Girolamo's  preaching.  But  in 
his  judgment  those  good  qualities  had  been  obscured  and  over- 
shadowed by  the  utterance  of  "  foolish  and  scandalous  things." 

No  man  can  be  found  in  all  the  world  who  has  ever  heard  him  make 
so  arrogant  an  assertion  as  to  say  that  he  was  a  prophet.  On  the  con- 
trary, thousands  can  bear  witness  that  he  has  often  declared  that  he 
was  "  neither  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet." 

It  is  quite  true  that  this  protest  is  to  be  found  in  more  than  one 
passage  of  his  sermons.  But  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in 
the  utterances  of  Savonarola  is  the  ease  with  which — unconsciously, 
as  it  would  seem — he  contradicts  himself.  Even  here,  in  one  and 
the  same  sentence,  he  declares  that  he  is  no  prophet,  and  yet  insists 
that  he  cannot  be  justly  condemned  for  prophesying.^ 

There  is  and  can  be  no  law  forbidding  a  man  to  say  that  he  fore- 
tells future  things  by  divine  inspiration,  unless  under  this  pretext  he 
leads  people  to  evil-doing  or  heresy,  or  does  anything  contrary  to  what 
is  written  in  Deuteronomy,^  which  no  one  can  say  of  him.  And  as 
for  the  criterion  between  a  true  and  a  false  prophet  which  is  there 
laid  down,  viz.  the  fulfilment  or  non-fulfilment  of  his  predictions,  this 
is  not  to  be  understood  of  immediate  verification  ;  otherwise  Isaiah 
and  Jeremiah  and  many  others  ought  to  have  been  slain  as  false 
prophets,  since  many  things  which  they  foretold  did  not  come  to  pass 
till  long  afterwards.  Hence  it  follows  that  if  any  one  declares  that 
by  the  spirit  of  God  he  foretells  the  future,  and  if  what  he  says  is  not 
contrary  to  faith  or  to  Holy  Scripture,  then  we  ought  patiently  to 
await  the  event,  and  not  to  despise  him,  since  God  has  many  hidden 
servants,  and  the  Apostle  bids  us  not  to  despise  prophets.  Wherefore, 
since  many  things  which  he  has  predicted  have  come  to  pass,  he  is  not 
to  be  blamed  for  having  foretold  other  things  yet  to  come.  If,  however, 
these  other  things  do  not  happen  in  their  time,  then  he  will  be  open  to 
blame  ;  but  he  is  certain  that  they  will  happen,  and  that  no  jot  of 
them  will  pass  away  (unfulfilled).  It  is  well  known  that  his  words  have 
brought  peace  to  Florence  ;  and  had  it  not  been  so,  all  Italy  would 

^  "  E  sappi  che  come  Amos  aveva  in  quel  tempo  a  dire  e  prenunziare  quelle  cose, 
cosi  ho  to  a  te  in  questo  tempo  ;  e  come  era  certo  Amos  di  quello  che  diceva,  cosi 
sono  certo  io  di  quello  che  io  ti  dico,  e  quel  medesimo  lume  che  aveva  Amos  ^  questo 
nel quale  io  ti prenunzio  queste  cose"  (Sermon  on  8th  March  1596,  Scelta,  p.  216). 

"^  Deut.  xiii.  i  sqq.^  xviii.  15  ^11' 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  191 

have  been  in  commotion.  "  Moreover,  had  my  words  baen  believed, 
Italy  would  not  now  be  smitten  with  such  tribulations  as  we  see.  For 
whereas  I  foresaw  its  afflictions  ...  I  foretold  that  a  sword  was  to 
come,  and  I  showed  that  penance  was  the  only  means  whereby  peace 
might  be  attained."  All  Italy,  then,  ought  to  be  grateful  to  him  for 
having  taught  her  the  way  to  peace  such  as  Florence  now  enjoys,  a 
peace  which  she  might  also  have  enjoyed  had  she  betaken  herself  to 
the  one  remedy  of  penance. 

As  for  what  concerns  the  reunion  with  the  Lombard  Congregation, 
it  is  an  injustice  to  call  religious  men  of  edifying  life  "perverse  friars." 
It  is  false  that  the  separation  was  obtained  by  the  efforts  of  some, 
whereas  a  public  document  shows  it  was  asked  for  by  all.  It  was 
sought  and  obtained,  not  that  we  might  indulge  in  laxity,  but  that  we 
might  live  a  life  of  greater  strictness.  Nor  was  the  separation  obtained 
in  a  surreptitious  manner  ("subdole"),  but  after  long  discussion,  and 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Tuscan  Congregation  had  originally  been 
independent  of  the  Lombard.  It  was  rather  the  Brief  of  union  which 
had  been  surreptitiously  obtained. ' 

It  is  not  true  that  he  has  refused  to  go  to  Rome.  He  had  written 
in  accordance  with  the  ordinances  of  the  Canon  Law,  to  set  forth  his 
reasonable  e.xcuses,  which  he  now  repeats.  He  is  surprised  that  his 
Holiness  should  not  have  received  the  letter,  of  which  he  now  sends 
a  second  copy,  so  that  the  Pope  may  see  how  falsely  he  has  been 
accused  of  disobedience. 

As  for  the  appointment  of  the  Vicar-General  of  the  Lombard  Con- 
gregation to  enquire  into  his  case,  Maggi  is  a  judge  whom  he  has  every 
right  to  regard  with  suspicion  ;  for  it  is  notorious  what  controversies  have 
prevailed  between  the  Lombard  and  the  Tuscan  Congregations,  and 
how  the  Vicar  and  his  brethren  have  not  ceased  to  molest  the  convents 
of  Tuscany.2  It  is  contrary  to  all  principles  of  justice  to  appoint  an 
enemy  as  judge  ;  nor  can  a  man  be  lawfully  required  to  appear  before 
such  a  judge.  He  is  therefore  justified  in  declining  to  obey  his  Holiness 
in  this  matter  ("impune  non  paremus  Sanctitati  Vestra^")  in  view  of 
the  grave  causes  which  he  can  allege.  He  has  many  enemies  whose 
violence  and  plots  make  it  impossible  for  him  to  leave  Florence,  as 
he  has  already  explained  in  his  former  letter.  How  then  can  his 
Holiness  put  him  under  obedience  to  the  Vicar-General  of  Lombardy, 
who  will  have  it  in  his  power  to  send  him  to  places  where  his  life 
will  be  in  danger  ?  And  as  for  the  source  of  this  danger,  it  has 
arisen  simply  because  he  has  proclaimed  the  truth,  and  because  the 
truth  excites  hatred.  He  concludes  with  an  eloquent  recital  of  the 
services  which  he  has  rendered  to  the  city  of  P'lorence  in  liberating  her 

^  See  above,  pp.  91  si/c/. 

'^  The  letters  (iSth  June,  i6th  November  1493)  '"  which  the  General  (1. 
Torriano  enjoins  upon  the  Fathers  of  the  Lombard  Congregation  not  to  molest 
the  Convent  of  S.  Marco  have  been  mentioned  above,  pp.  ioi-2. 


192  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

from  the  selfish  and  ambitious  faction  which  sought  to  reduce  her  to 
servitude  ;  from  the  dissensions  and  bloodshed  which  would  have 
resulted  from  their  triumph,  and  lastly,  from  the  indignation  and  the 
sword  of  the  French  king.  "  And  is  this  the  reward  which  I  receive  for 
my  labours  from  the  ingratitude  of  men  ?  Yet  I  do  not  repent  of  my  toils, 
for  our  reward  is  great  in  heaven,  but  men  are  false  and  vain,  and  vain 
are  the  hopes  which  are  placed  in  them."  And  since  the  accusations 
which  have  been  made  against  him  are  false,  and  proceed  from  the 
malice  of  enemies  who  seek  his  life,  he  trusts  that  the  Holy  Father  will 
consider  him  not  disobedient,  but  prudent,  if  he  refrains  for  the  moment 
from  compliance  with  the  Pope's  demands,  in  the  full  expectation  of 
receiving  from  him  a  full  acquittal  on  all  the  charges  which  have  been 
made  against  him.  If  his  Holiness  will  send  a  prudent  and  impartial 
man  ("justum  et  non  suspectum")  to  enquire  into  the  matter,  he  may 
learn  the  whole  truth  from  the  universal  testimony  of  the  people  ;  "  and 
as  for  me,  I  am  ready  to  amend  my  conduct  wheresoever  I  may  be,  and 
publicly  to  retract  all  my  errors.  Let  your  Holiness  deign  to  signify 
to  me  what  the  things  are,  out  of  all  that  I  have  said  and  written,  which 
I  must  retract,  and  I  will  do  so  most  willingly  ;  for  now  and  always, 
as  I  have  often  said  and  written,  I  submit  myself  and  all  my  words  and 
writings  to  the  correction  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church  and  of  your 
Holiness,  to  whose  prayers,  prostrate  at  your  feet,  I  most  humbly 
commend  myself  and  all  my  brethren." 

There  is  obviously  much  in  this  letter  which  can  hardly  fail 
to  awaken  sympathy.  However  fully  the  modern  reader  may  be 
convinced  that  Fra  Girolamo  was  deceived  about  his  prophetic 
mission,  he  cannot  but  recognise  his  greatness  of  soul,  and  it  is  easy 
to  imagine  the  bitterness  of  the  sorrow  with  which  he  must  have 
read  the  papal  Brief,  with  its  needlessly  harsh  expressions,  dictated, 
as  it  seemed  to  him,  by  the  mahce  of  his  enemies,  and  threatening 
as  it  did  the  ruin  of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  work  of  God.  If 
again  we  remember  who  and  what  manner  of  men  they  were  that 
now  were  brought  into  conflict,  we  shall  surely  make  large  allow- 
ance for  the  Friar,  and  no  one,  it  may  be  hoped,  would  be  disposed 
to  judge  him  harshly. 

Again,  whatever  degree  of  perversity  of  judgment  Fra  Girolamo's 
reply  to  the  Pope  may  be  thought  to  reveal,  it  is  difficult  not  to 
believe  that  under  the  wise  handling  of  an  ecclesiastical  superior 
like-minded  with  himself  as  regards  ideals  and  aims,  he  might  have 
been  brought  to  a  more  reasonable  frame  of  mind.  But  to  say  all 
this  is  not  quite  the  same  thing  as  to  uphold  his  action  objectively 
considered.  And  to  minimise  his  fault  is  not  the  same  thing  as  to 
hold  him  entirely  blameless.     For  unless  we  recognise  some  alloy  of 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  193 

pride  in  his  words  and  conduct  on  this  occasion,  they  are  not  easily 
to  be  accounted  for  ;  and  where  there  is  pride  there  is  at  least  some 
degree  of  moral  culpability  at  the  root  of  the  matter,  though  not 
necessarily  at  each  individual  step  in  a  prolonged  course  of  action. 

But  leaving  this  point  aside,  in  all  that  part  of  Savonarola's  letter 
which  is  concerned  with  the  appointment  of  the  Vicar-General  of 
Lombardy  to  take  cognisance  of  his  cause  there  appears  to  us  to  be 
some  confusion  of  ideas.  It  was  not  the  question  of  the  reunion  of 
the  Congregations  which  was  submitted  to  Maggi.  This  would 
indeed  have  been  to  make  one  of  the  parties  to  the  case  the  judge  with 
whom  the  decision  was  to  lie.  But  as  the  Pope  in  the  plenitude  of  his 
power  had  effected  the  separation  at  the  earnest  instance  of  Savonarola 
and  his  fellow-religious,  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  superiors 
of  the  Lombard  Congregation,  so  also  at  the  instance  of  those  same 
superiors,  he  could  lawfully  revoke  his  former  act,  which  had  led  to 
what  seemed  to  him  undesirable  results.  The  reunion  being  decreed, 
the  person  to  whom  the  examination  of  Savonarola's  teaching  and 
conduct  would  in  the  natural  course  of  things  be  committed  was  the 
superior  to  whose  obedience  he  was  now  restored.  No  one  could 
have  blamed  Fra  Girolamo  had  he  done  no  more  than  to  petition  for 
more  favourable  terms  for  his  fellow-religious  and  for  himself,  and  to 
expose  once  more  the  grounds  on  which  the  continued  separation  of 
the  Congregation  seemed  to  him  desirable :  but  to  protest  against  the 
papal  ordinance  as  canonically  unjust  was  perhaps  to  carry  resistance 
at  least  one  step  too  far.  And  the  suggestion  that  Maggi  would  be 
likely  to  send  him  to  some  place  where  his  life  would  be  in  danger 
was  a  slur  upon  the  good  faith  and  prudence  of  one  who  was  after  all 
a  man  of  distinguished  virtue,  whom  the  Church  has  since  honoured 
with  the  title  of  Beatus. 

If  account  be  taken  of  the  character  of  Alexander  VI.,  and  on 
the  hypothesis  that  he  was  so  entirely  under  the  influence  of 
Savonarola's  enemies  as  some  of  Fra  Girolamo's  apologists  seem  to 
suppose,  it  might  perhaps  have  been  expected  that  his  next  letter 
would  have  been  full  of  indications  of  personal  resentment,  and  of  a 
determination  to  carry  out,  in  spite  of  Fra  Girolamo's  representations, 
the  project  of  a  reunion  of  S.  Marco  and  the  convents  subject  thereto 
with  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy.^  Such,  however,  is  emphati- 
cally not  the  character  of  the  Brief,  Licet  tiberius,  which  was  issued 

^  It  will  be  remembered  that  only  two  or  three  of  the  Dominican  houses  in 
Tuscany  had  embraced  the  reform  of  S.  Marco, 


194  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

on  1 6th  October  1495.  Indeed,  what  we  have  said  of  the  Pope's 
first  letter  might  be  said  of  this,  viz.  that  in  substance,  and  apart  from 
a  few  individual  phrases,  it  is  just  such  a  document  as  might  have 
emanated  from  the  holiest  and  most  zealous  of  Popes.  We  give,  as 
before,  the  substance  of  the  Brief ; — 

"  We  have  [says  the  Pope]  already  fully  explained  to  you  how  greatly 
we  are  displeased  at  the  disturbed  state  of  things  which  prevails  in 
Florence  ;  and  the  more  so  because  it  owes  its  origin  to  your  preaching. 
For  you  leave  aside  the  reprehension  of  vice  and  the  praise  of  virtue  (!) 
to  predict  future  things,  and  you  publicly  declare  that  you  do  so  by 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Such  utterances  are  often  the  cause 
why  simple-minded  persons  stray  from  the  path  of  salvation  and  from 
the  obedience  due  to  the  Holy  Roman  Church.  You  ought  rather  to 
procure  peace  and  union  than  to  put  forward  these  prophecies — as  they 
are  called  by  the  common  people.  You  ought  to  have  reflected  that  the 
conditions  of  the  time  are  altogether  unsuited  to  such  teaching,  which 
would  be  calculated  to  foment  discord  even  in  time  of  peace,  much  more 
to  increase  it  in  time  of  disturbance. 

"These  considerations  had  determined  us,  after  mature  deliberation, 
to  summon  you  to  our  presence  here,  that  you  might  either  purge  your- 
self of  the  charges  brought  against  you,  or  suffer  just  punishment. 
Since,  however,  we  have  recently  understood  from  certain  of  our 
brethren  the  Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  and  from  your 
own  letter,  that  you  are  prepared  in  all  things  to  submit  yourself  to 
the  judgment  (correction!)  of  the  Church,  as  becomes  a  Christian  and 
religious  man,  we  are  greatly  rejoiced  thereat ;  and  we  begin  to  be 
persuaded  that  you  have  preached  these  things,  not  with  any  evil  intent 
(malo  animo),  but  out  of  a  certain  simplicity  and  a  zeal,  misguided 
though  it  be,  for  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  However,  that  we  may  not 
fail  in  our  duty,  we  now  prescribe,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  that 
from  henceforth  you  desist  from  all  preaching,  whether  in  public  or  in 
private,  until  such  time  as  it  shall  be  possible  for  you  to  come  to 
our  presence,  not  under  the  protection  of  an  armed  escort,  after  your 
present  fashion  of  going  abroad,  but  with  the  security,  quietness,  and 
modesty  which  becomes  a  religious  man,  or  until  we  shall  make  some 
other  provision.  And  if  you  do  this  {i.e.  desist  from  preaching),  as  we 
trust  that  you  will,  we  in  the  meanwhile  suspend  the  operation  of  our 
former  Brief,  that  you  may  live  in  peace  according  to  the  dictates  of  your 
own  conscience."  ^ 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  Pope  implicitly  recognises  as  valid  one 
at  least  of  the  excuses  offered  by  Savonarola  in  his  letter  of  31st  July, 
viz.  the  danger  of  travelling  ;   also  that  he  suspends  the  appointment 

1  The  Brief  is  given  by  Raynaldus  (under  the  erroneous  date,  i6th  October 
1497),  and  more  correctly  by  Gherardi,  pp.  390-91. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  19$ 

of  Maggi  as  judge  of  the  case,  and  likewise  suspends  or  withdraws 
the  command  to  reunite  the  Tuscan  convents  with  the  Lombard 
Congregation.  Apart  from  the  circumstantial  portions  or  motive 
clauses  of  the  Brief,  a  more  lenient  sentence — on  the  hypothesis  that 
the  Friar's  prophetical  mission  was  at  least  doubtful — could  hardly 
have  been  looked  for  if  a  saint  had  occupied  the  See  of  Peter.  It  is 
in  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  Pope  for  his  action  that  the  real  sting 
lies.  How,  it  may  be  asked,  could  he  allege  that  Savonarola  had 
"  left  aside  the  reprehension  of  vice  and  the  praise  of  virtue  "  to 
attend  to  prophecy  ?  The  expression  was  certainly  not  well 
chosen  ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  clear  that  a  statement  of  this  kind 
must  have  been  intended,  and  ought  to  be  understood,  not  absolutely, 
but  relatively.  So  far  as  the  sermons  of  Fra  Girolamo  were  taken  up 
with  predictions,  and  with  the  promulgation  of  his  visions  and  divine 
colloquies,  to  that  extent  they  were  not  concerned  with  those  other 
matters  which  more  properly  belonged  to  the  preacher's  ofifice. 
Again,  at  first  sight  it  seems  hard  that  the  man  to  whom  Florence 
was  indebted  for  having  passed  through  an  acute  political  crisis 
almost  without  bloodshed  should  now  be  accused  of  fomenting 
discord  and  originating  disturbances  ;  and  the  more  so  because  there 
was,  at  the  moment,  no  actual  disturbance  within  the  walls  of  the 
city.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  at  the  very  time 
when  these  words  were  written  Piero  de'  Medici,  with  a  body 
of  troops  commanded  by  Virginio  Orsini  and  subsidised  by 
the  Pope  himself,  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Siena  awaiting  an 
opportunity  to  attack  Florence.^ 

'*  Quis  tulerit  Gracchos  de  seditione  querentes  ? " 

Might  it  not  very  fairly  be  said  that  it  was  Alexander  himself,  and 
not  Fra  Girolamo,  who  was  fomenting  discord  in  Florence,  and  that 
the  accusation  was  nothing  better  than  a  piece  of  odious  hypocrisy 
on  the  part  of  a  Pope  whose  private  life  and  political  intrigues  were 

^  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  I2th  October  1495  (Cappelli,  n.  90).  "II  Papa 
ed  i  Veneziani  volevano  infatli  rimettere  Piero  de'  Medici "  (Villari,  ii.  385). 
Sforza  was  no  friend  to  Piero,  but  to  promote  the  purposes  of  the  League  he  had 
agreed  to  forward  the  project.  Bentivojjlio  of  Bologna,  subsidised  by  Sforza, 
was  to  have  attacked  Florence  from  the  north,  while  Siena  and  Perugia  were  to 
have  sent  troops  from  the  south.  But  the  whole  plan  of  campaign  collapsed, 
and  Piero  returned  to  Rome  without  having  effected  or  even  attempted  anything 
serious. 


196  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

the  scandal  of  Christendom?^  The  sole  and  sufficient  answer  to 
such  a  plea  lies  in  the  obvious  principle  that  two  wrongs  do  not 
make  a  right.  Alexander's  misdeeds  do  not  justify,  objectively,  the 
action  of  Savonarola.  The  motives  which  actuated  the  Pope  on  this 
occasion  were,  no  doubt,  very-  far  from  pure.  At  the  same  time 
there  is  no  ground — so  far  as  we  are  aware — for  imputing  to  him 
any  conscious  dishonesty  in  promoting  the  League  of  Itahan  States 
against  the  French  invader,  nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  scheme  for 
the  restoration  of  Piero  (which  would  have  carried  with  it  the 
adhesion  of  Florence  to  the  League)  was  necessarily  unjust. 
Savonarola,  by  the  vehemence  of  his  invectives  against  *'  tyrants  " 
during  this  very  month  of  October,  1495,  had  done  more  than  any 
other  man  in  Florence  to  make  the  peaceful  return  of  Piero 
impossible,  and  had  necessitated  (so  the  Pope  might  argue)  the 
present  hostile  movement  against  the  Republic.  In  a  word,  whereas 
the  Friar's  general  exhortations  to  peace  and  concord  in  the  autumn 
and  winter  of  1494  had  borne  excellent  fruits,  his  subsequent 
denunciation  of  all  and  sundry  who  might  seek  to  alter  the  new  con- 
stitution might  plausibly  be  held  to  have  a  very  opposite  tendency ; 
nor  could  it  be  reasonably  alleged  that  it  was  purely  and  simply 
his  campaign  against  vice,  as  such,  which  had  rendered  the  protection 
of  an  armed  escort  a  necessity  for  the  Friar.  We  do  not  venture  to 
assert  that  the  Pope  judged  rightly,  still  less  that  the  expressions 
which  he  used  in  his  Brief  were,  in  all  cases,  wisely  chosen.  To 
have  spoken  of  "  dissensions "  rather  than  "  disturbances "  would 
perhaps  have  been  more  germane  to  the  purpose.  For  dissensions 
there  certainly  were,  and  they  were  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the 
preaching  of  Fra  Girolamo.  But  the  fundamental  fact  remains,  that 
Borgia  occupied — however  unworthily — the  post  of  command  ;  and 
although  his  direct  authority  did  not  extend  to  purely  political  affairs, 
he  at  least  had  a  right  to  demand  that  his  policy  should  not  be 
thwarted  by  an  irresponsible  preacher  who  claimed  a  direct  divine 
sanction  for  his  opposition,  and,  at  the  same  time,  gave  proofs  of  a 
kind  of  obstinacy  which  alone  was  enough  to  cast  suspicion  on  the 
genuineness  of  his  alleged  revelation. 

But,  however  this  may  be,  it  is  to  the  credit  of  Fra  Girolamo  that 
for  some  months  after  the  somewhat  tardy  arrival  of  the  Brief  Licet 

^  This  was,  in  fact,  the  answer  which  Savonarola  actually  made,  a  few 
months  later,  to  this  very  reproach  (Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta  di  Prediche, 
p.  199). 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  197 

uherius  he  obeyed  the  Papal  mandate,  and  abstained  from  preach- 
ing. And  in  fact  more  than  a  year  elapsed  before  the  Pope  once 
more  issued  a  Brief  relating  to  the  affairs  of  Savonarola.  We 
possess,  however,  a  long  series  of  letters  and  memoranda  written 
by  other  persons  during  the  interval,  which  are  of  considerable 
interest  and  importance  as  illustrating  the  course  of  events. 
There  are  letters  from  the  Ten,  and  occasionally  from  the 
Signory,  to  the  Florentine  ambassadors  in  Rome,  and  from 
the  ambassadors  to  the  Signory  and  the  Ten  ;  there  is  the 
correspondence  of  Somenzi  and  Tranchedino  with  the  Duke 
of  Milan,  and  that  of  Manfredi  with  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  ;  and 
finally  there  is  the  diary  of  that  ardent  Piagnone,  Luca  Landucci. 
The  letters  in  question  are  scattered  through  the  collections  of 
Villari,  Marchese,  Gherardi,  Cappelli,  and  del  Lungo,  but  they  have 
never  been  brought  together  in  one  continuous  series.  It  has, 
therefore,  seemed  worth  while  to  do  here  on  a  more  extended  scale 
what  we  have  already  done  in  the  foregoing  chapters  in  regard  of 
similar  documents,  i.e.  to  arrange  and  summarise  them  in  a  kind  of 
calendar. 

26///  October;  Manfredi  to  d'Este.^— Savonarola  continues  to  preach. 
He  has  told  Manfredi  that  no  suspension  has  come  from  the  Pope,  and 
that  he  trusts  his  Holiness  will  impose  silence  on  his  calumniators,  but 
that  if  matters  should  go  further,  and  the  Pope  should  be  unwilling  to 
accept  his  vindication,  he  hopes  to  receive  effective  support  from  d'Este, 
who  will,  he  is  sure,  represent  his  case  to  the  Pope  in  its  true  light. 
(The  Brief  of  i6th  October  had  obviously  not  yet  been  delivered.) 

\lth  November;  The  Signory  to  Alexander  VI.^— In  the  midst  of  all 
our  troubles  and  dangers  nothing  has  helped  us  more,  or  more  efficaciously 
contributed  to  preserve  us  from  worse  evils,  than  the  presence  and  labours 
of  Fra  Hieronymo  of  Ferrara,  a  man  whom  the  divine  mercy  has  sent  us 
to  save  us  from  ruin.  He  is  a  man  distinguished  by  holiness  and  learn- 
ing ;  but  what  more  than  any  thing  else  has  captivated  the  minds  of  our 
people  is  his  prediction  of  future  events.  Wherein,  if  he  had  erred,  we 
should  have  known  that  his  predictions  were  not  of  God,  but  were  fables 
bom  of  pride.  But  things  being  as  they  are,  his  authority  in  our  city 
has  come  to  be  immense.  He  has  shown  himself  not  merely  a  com- 
passionate father,  but  a  counsellor  divinely  wise  (consuluit,  perfecit 
divine).  And  although  there  are  envious  men  who,  in  their  hostility 
to  our  welfare,  have  calumniated  him  to  your  Holiness,  we  claim  to  bear 
a  more  trustworthy  witness  to  his  life  and  character.     "We  need,  Holy 


*  Cappelli,  n.  92.  *  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  cxiiL 


198  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Father,  we  need  this  man  of  God  and  his  preaching,  whereby  he  may 
bring  our  city,  as  he  has  ever  done,  to  a  better  way  of  hfe,  and  to  the 
service  of  the  living  God.  We  therefore  supplicate  your  Holiness  to 
allow  Fra  Hieronymo  to  resume  his  ministry  of  preaching,  and  we  assure 
you  that  you  can  show  no  greater  favour  to  the  people  of  Florence  than 
by  granting  our  request." 

I2)th  and  lyth  Novcfnbcr;  The  Signory  to  Cardinal  Carafifa.^ — They 
are  grateful  for  the  favourable  letter  which  his  Eminence  has  written  to 
Savonarola.  This  man  has  certainly  been  sent  to  them  by  God  Himself 
to  save  them  from  ruin.  He  has  foretold  future  things,  and  everything 
which  he  has  said  has  proved  true.  He  has  helped  the  people  by  his 
salutary  advice  and  by  his  virtuous  example,  and  has  kept  them,  by  his 
preaching,  in  the  fear  of  God.  Yet  evil-disposed  persons  have  endeavoured 
to  stir  up  the  indignation  of  the  Pope  against  him.  But  they  (the 
Signory)  are  thoroughly  cognisant  of  the  soundness  of  his  doctrine  and 
the  holiness  of  his  life,  and  they  claim  that  their  testimony  should  be 
received  rather  than  that  of  the  irresponsible  persons  (fugitivis  quibusdam, 
ut  ita  dixerimus)  who  neither  know  the  truth  nor  have  in  them  the 
fear  of  God.  They  therefore  beg  the  Cardinal  to  obtain  permission  from 
the  Pope  that  Fra  Girolamo  may  preach  during  the  coming  Advent  ;  and, 
as  time  presses,  and  it  may  be  difficult  to  obtain  a  Brief,  they  urge  him 
to  get  the  leave,  if  possible,  vivae  vocis  oraciilo. 

The  urgency  of  the  Signory  was,  however,  in  vain  ;  nor  was  a 
letter  despatched  by  the  Ten  to  Becchi  on  5th  December,^  begging 
him  to  press  the  matter  on  the  attention  of  Caraffa,  more  successful. 
It  is  curious  that  Landucci  in  his  diary  does  not  notice  the  silence 
of  Savonarola  till  nth  December,  on  which  day  he  writes:  "We 
hear  (ci  fu)  that  the  Pope  has  forbidden  Fra  Girolamo  to  preach, 
and  this  prohibition  he  has  observed  for  some  days."  ^  The  prudence 
which  had  so  long  kept  secret  the  receipt  of  the  Brief  of  i6th  October 
deserves  commendation. 

But  although  Savonarola,  in  obedience  to  the  Brief,  refrained 
from  preaching,  he  was  by  no  means  inactive;  for  to  this  period 
belongs  the  initiation  of  one  of  the  most  characteristic  of  his  efforts 
for  the  spiritual  advantage  of  Florence,  viz.  the  reform  and  organisa- 
tion of  the  children  of  the  city,  in  whom  he  hoped — like  S.  Francis 
Xavier  at  Goa — to  find  efficacious  instruments  whereby  to  forward 
the  great  work  of  moral  regeneration.  Concerning  the  actual 
measures  which  he  adopted,  the  processions,  the  collection  of  alms, 
the  reformation  of  the  Carnival  (which  first  took  effect  in  1496),  the 

*  Gherardi,  pp.  130  u^q.         '^  Gherardi,  p.  132.         ^  Landucci,  p.  120, 


PROPHET  AND  POPK  t99 

pyramid  of  vanities  (1497  and  1498),  and  the  institution  of  the 
children's  police,  enough  has  been  said  in  a  former  chapter.  But  we 
cannot  refrain  from  quoting  here  some  words  on  the  subject 
from  the  diary  of  Landucci.  On  7th  February  1496,  when  the 
apostolate  of  the  children  had  been  in  progress  for  some  weeks,  he 
writes : — 

"The  children  had  received  such  encouragement  from  Fra  Girolamo 
to  reprove  unbecoming  modes  of  dress  (le  disoneste  posature)  and  the 
vice  of  gambling,  that  when  people  said  :  '  Here  come  the  Friar's 
children,'  every  gambler,  however  bold  he  might  be,  would  take  himself 
off,  and  women  attired  and  conducted  themselves  with  all  modesty. 
The  children  were  held  in  such  reverence  that  every  one  abstained  from 
scandalous  vice.  Not  a  word  on  such  matters  was  to  be  heard  from 
young  or  old  during  that  holy  time  ;  but  it  was  short.  The  wicked  (e 
tristi)  have  proved  more  powerful  than  the  good.  Brief  as  it  was,  may 
God  be  praised  that  I  saw  that  holy  time  ;  and  I  pray  that  He  may  give 
us  back  once  more  that  holy  and  chaste  mode  of  life.  That  this  was 
indeed  a  blessed  time  any  one  may  judge  who  will  consider  the  things 
which  then  were  done." ' 

Then  he  goes  on  to  describe  the  Carnival  of  1496,  and  closes  his 
description  with  the  words  :  "  I  have  written  these  things  because  they 
are  true,  and  I  have  seen  them,  and  have  experienced  in  them  such 
consolation  (b  sentito  di  tal  dolcezza),  and  children  of  my  own 
were  among  those  blessed  and  modest  bands."  He  returns  to  the 
subject  on  17th  and  27th  February,  and  8th  and  27th  March  (Palm 
Sunday).  One  may  feel  very  sure  that  the  intercession  of  the  Guardian 
Angels  of  those  children  was  efficacious  on  Fra  Girolamo's  behalf. 

Meanwhile  the  city  magistrates  resumed  their  efforts  to  obtain 
the  removal  of  the  inhibition  from  preaching,  with  a  view  to  the 
approaching  Lent.^  The  available  evidence  (as  will  appear  from 
the  letters  hereafter  referred  to)  points  to  the  conclusion  that  Caraffa 
succeeded  in  extorting  from  Alexander  either  an  explicit  verbal 
permission,  or,  more  probably,  some  words  which  might  be  in- 
terpreted as  implying  a  tacit  consent,  in  view,  however,  of  an  express 
or  tacit  understanding  that  Savonarola  should  abstain  in  his  sermons 

*  Diario,  p.  124.  It  is  curious  that  the  occasion  for  these  remarks  is  given  by 
the  mention  of  what  would  seem  to  have  been  an  act  of  indiscreet  zeal  on  the  part 
of  these  little  ones  ("  e  fanciugli  levorono  di  capo  una  veliera  a  una  fanciulla,  e 
fuvvi  scandalo  di  sua  giente,"  p.  123). 

"^  The  Signory  to  Caraffa  and  the  Ten  to  Becclii,  2Slh  January  and  51I1  Kclnuary 
(Gherardi,  p.  132,  Marchese,  n.  i). 


20O  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

from  meddling  in  Roman  affairs.  The  situation  was  sufficiently 
critical  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  Signory  in  a  debate  as  to 
whether  Fra  Girolamo  should  or  should  not  be  invited  to  preach 
the  Lenten  course  in  the  Duomo.  On  8th  February  Somenzi  reports 
that  matters  are  going  against  the  Friar,  and  that  he  hopes  for  a 
decision  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  his  master.^  On  nth 
February,  however,  a  resolution  was  passed  inviting  Savonarola  to 
preach  during  Lent,  or  previously,  if  he  shall  so  determine,  either 
in  the  Duomo  or  elsewhere,  at  his  discretion.^  Only  the  actual 
terms  of  the  resolution  are  given,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  report 
of  the  previous  discussion  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  the  real 
or  supposed  verbal  permission  of  the  Pope  was  or  was  not  put 
forward  as  a  principal  reason  in  its  favour. 

At  any  rate  Savonarola  once  more  ascended  the  pulpit  of  S. 
Marco  during  the  Carnival,  a  few  days  after  the  resolution  of  the 
Signory  had  been  communicated  to  him,  and  it  is  due  to  him  to  say 
that  he  declared  that  he  did  so  with  the  Pope's  permission.^  On 
the  other  hand,  in  his  sermon  on  Ash  Wednesday,  17th  February, 
when  he  opened  the  Lenten  course  in  the  Duomo,  he  made  no 
reference  to  any  such  permission.  He  begins  his  discourse  by 
explaining  the  reasons  why  he  has  been  so  long  silent. 

Is  it  because  he  has  had  some  scruple  about  preaching  ?  No.  Is 
it  because  an  excommunication  has  been  sent  from  Rome  ?  No  :  for 
even  if  such  a  document  had  arrived,  he  has  already  declared  that  it 
would  be  of  no  effect.  He  has  been  silent  because  he  wished  to  look 
into  his  own  life  and  teaching :  "  I  said  in  my  heart— perhaps  thou  hast  not 
looked  well  to  thy  ways,  and  thy  tongue  has  been  led  astray  ;  and  I  have 
therefore  considered  them  one  by  one."  But  his  conscience  has  acquitted 
him.  He  has  always  held,  and  does  hold,  entire  and  inviolate,  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Holy  Roman   Catholic  Church,   and  has  written  to   Rome, 

1  "  La  praticha  contro  il  Frate  e  reducta  fin  al  presente  a  bono  termine,  e  spero 
anchora  I'havera  bono  fine  secundo  el  desiderio  "  (del  Lungo,  n.  3).  The  letter 
is  dated  8th  February  1495,  but  belongs  to  1496.  Del  Lungo  has  here  overlooked 
the  difference  between  the  Florentine  and  Roman  "style"  of  dating,  which  has 
been  the  source  of  much  confusion. 

2  Gherardi,  p.  133.  A  letter  from  Manfredi  to  d'Este,  assigned  by  Cappelli 
to  5th  February  1496,  would  seem  to  imply  that  he  had  already  begun  to  preach 
(Cappelli,  n.  96).  But  we  venture  to  suggest,  with  some  confidence,  that  the 
letter  is  dated  after  the  Florentine  style,  and  belongs  to  1497.  Our  conjecture  is 
confirmed  by  the  circumstance  that  the  terms  of  the  letter,  so  far  as  it  concerns 
the  preaching  of  .Savonarola,  are  almost  identical  with  those  of  a  despatch  from 
Somenzi,  dated  26th  February  1497  (Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xxv.). 

2  Somenzi  to  Sforza,  i6th  Feljruary  [in/ta). 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  lot 

that  "if  I  have  either  preached  or  written  any  thing  heretical,  I  am 
wilHng  to  correct  it,  and  to  make  here  a  public  recantation."  But,  he 
declares,  though  the  Church  is  infallible,  it  does  not  follow  that  every 
command  of  an  ecclesiastical  superior  is  to  be  obeyed.  "The  Pope 
cannot  command  me  to  do  anything  contrary  to  charity,  or  contrary  to 
the  Gospel.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Pope  wishes  me  to  do  anything 
of  the  kind,  but  were  he  to  do  so  I  should  tell  him  :  'Thou  art  not  now  a 
good  shepherd,  thou  art  not  the  Roman  Church,  thou  art  in  error.'"  As 
for  himself,  he  did  not  regard  himself  as  under  any  obligation  to  obey  a 
command  to  leave  Florence,  for  every  one  knew  that  the  motive  of  such 
an  order  was  solely  political  hatred.  "  If  I  saw  most  clearly  that  my 
leaving  a  city  would  be  attended  with  its  spiritual  and  temporal  ruin,  I 
would  not  obey  the  command  of  any  living  man  to  quit  it.  O  ye  who 
write  such  lies  to  Rome,  what  will  you  now  write  ?  I  know  well  what 
you  will  write.  .  .  .  You  will  write  that  I  have  said  that  we  ought  not 
to  obey  the  Pope,  and  that  I  do  not  mean  to  obey  him.  That  I  do  not 
say.  What  I  have  spoken  I  have  written,  and  you  will  see  that  you 
cannot  gainsay  it." 

Nor  did  he,  in  this  lenten  course  (on  Amos  and  Zacharias)  con- 
fine himself  to  abstract  declarations  of  principle.  Now,  more  than 
ever,  he  inveighed  against  the  vices  of  the  Roman  court,  more 
especially  in  the  sermon,  delivered  on  the  second  Sunday  in  Lent, 
on  "  the  fat  kine  that  are  in  the  mountains  of  Samaria"  (Amos  iv.  i), 
wherein  Samaria  is  made  to  stand  for  Rome,  and  the  "  fat  kine " 
for  the  harlots  whose  numbers  disgraced  the  city  of  the  Popes.  On 
the  fourth  Sunday  in  Lent  he  cried  out ; — 

"Prepare  thyself,  O  Rome,  for  great  will  be  thy  punishments.  Thou 
shalt  be  put  in  irons  ;  thou  shalt  be  put  to  the  sword  ;  fire  and  flame 
shall  consume  thee.  .  .  .  Rome  shall  be  stricken  with  a  grievous  sickness, 
even  unto  death.  ...  I  will  bring  down  upon  Italy  a  race  of  men  the 
most  wicked  that  can  be  found  ;  I  will  humble  her  princes,  I  will  bring 
down  the  pride  of  Rome  :  that  race  will  take  possession  of  their  holy 
places,  will  defile  their  churches,  and  ...  I  will  turn  them  into  stalls 
and  styes  for  horses  and  hogs."  Even  this,  the  preacher  declares,  will  be 
less  displeasing  to  God  than  the  uses  to  which  they  are  now  put.^ 

It  was  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  language  of  this  kind  could 
pass  unnoticed  at  the  Papal  court.  And,  indeed,  if  the  character  of 
the  sermons  on  Amos  and  Zacharias  be  steadily  kept  in  mind,  the 
forbearance  of  the  Pope,  and  the  strenuous  advocacy  of  several  of 
the  Cardinals,  will  afford  more  matter  for  surprise  than  the  evidence 

'  "  Dapoi  che  I'hanno  falto  st.illc  di  meietrici,  io  le  faro  stuile  di  porci  e  cavalli. 
perche  questo  nianco  displace  a  Dio  che  il  farle  stalle  di  meretrici "  (Villari,  i.  430). 


202  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

which  contemporary  documents  afford  of  Alexander's  indignation 
at  the  boldness  of  Fra  Girolamo.  We  resume  our  calendar  of  letters 
and  memoranda. 

\bth  February  1496  ;  Somenzi  to  Sforza. — The  writer  relates  Wx^festa 
held  on  the  last  day  of  the  Carnival,  under  the  direction  of  Savonarola, 
the  collection  of  alms  by  the  children,  and  the  procession  with  cries  of 
"  Viva  Cristo."  "  The  Friar  has  publicly  declared  that  he  intends  to  preach 
during  the  whole  of  this  Lent,  saying  that  he  has  had  the  Pope's  leave."  ^ 
iQth  February  1496;  Tranchedino  to  Sforza.  —  Bentivoglio  and 
Vinciguerra  have  been  much  amused  at  hearing  of  the  astuteness  with 
which  Fra  Gyronymo  {sic)  contrives  to  curry  favour  with  the  people  of 
Florence.  *'  I  assure  you  that  it  is  not  true  that  he  has  had  leave  from 
the  Pope  to  preach,  though  he  asserts  that  he  has  ;  he  has  simply  taken 
leave.     It  is  enough  for  him  that  he  is  not  actually  prevented."  ^ 

<^th  March ;  The  Ten  to  Becchi.^ — Becchi  is  thanked  for  his  efforts  to 
obtain  for  Savonarola  permission  to  continue  his  preaching.  His  ill 
success  so  far  is  not  his  fault,  but  is  due  to  the  calumnious  accusations 
of  the  Friar's  enemies.  They  too  {i.e.  the  Ten)  are  in  a  manner  affected 
by  the  accusations,  which  reflect  upon  their  own  prudence.  But  they 
wish  his  Holiness  to  be  assured  that  Savonarola  has  never  exceeded 
"the  measure  which  universal  custom  allows  to  preachers."  If  he  had 
really  exceeded  this  measure,  and  had  attacked  the  Pope  personally, 
they  would  not  have  suffered  it.     Therefore,  Becchi  is  to  persevere. 

On  loth  March  a  iVa/zVa  was  held  to  discuss  the  contents  of  letters 
received  from  Gualterotti,  the  Florentine  envoy  at  Milan,  and  from 
Becchi.*  One  speaker,  whose  name  has  not  been  preserved,  advises 
that  the  Pope  be  told  that  if  Fra  Girolamo  has  preached,  this  is  on 
the  ground  of  the  great  confidence  which  he  has  in  his  Holiness,  and 
more  especially  on  the  strength  of  a  certain  letter  from  the  Cardinal 
of  Naples,  and  by  reason  of  the  great  fruit  which  his  preaching  has 
produced,  and  does  produce,  and  by  no  means  with  the  intention  of 
displeasing  the  Pope.  Piero  Capponi,  more  cautious,  is  of  opinion 
that  if  there  is  no  Papal  prohibition,  then  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  secure  the  continuance  of  Savonarola's  sermons ;  but  if 
there  has  been  a  prohibition,  then  some  learned  men  should  be 
deputed  to  confer  with  Fra  Girolamo  on  the  matter,  so  that  nothing 
should  be  done  against  the  will  of  the  Pope ;  for  we  must  "  render  to 

1  Del  Lungo,  n.  5  ;  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  cxi,  sqq. 

2  Del  Lungo,  n.  6.  The  last  words  are  obscure  :  "  Dove  li  e  permesso  che 
non  li  sia  devetata."  Tranchedino  writes  from  Bologna,  where  he  acted  as  envoy 
from  Sforza  to  Bentivoglio.  Vinciguerra  was  the  Venetian  envoy  at  the  same 
court. 

2  Marchese,  n.  2. 
«  Ghcrardi,  p.  136, 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  203 

Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's  and  to  God  the  thinj^s  that  are 
God's."  Besides,  in  past  times  the  censures  of  the  Pope  have  done 
much  injury  to  the  city,  and  in  particular  to  its  merchants  trading 
abroad. 

1  \th  Marc/t ;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.' — The  Pope  has  shown  himself  some- 
what appeased,  but  still  complains  of  the  permission  to  preach  which  you 
have  given  to  Fra  Girolamo,  and  that  the  Friar  holds  the  people  to  the 
French  alliance  against  his  will.  He  exhorts  you  to  do  now  what  you 
ought  to  have  done  two  months  ago,  and  not  to  give  up  the  government 
of  the  city  into  the  hands  of  the  Friar,  "  o  a  altri."  The  Cardinals  who 
are  your  friends  say  the  same. 

\2(h  March;  The  Ten  to  Becchi.'^ — He  is  to  try  to  get  leave  for  the 
short  remainder  of  Lent.  It  is  not  true  that  Savonarola  preaches 
against  the  League. 

iZfh  March;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^ — The  Pope  is  again  angry.  He 
had  understood  from  Carafifa  that  the  Friar  had  promised  not  to  meddle 
with  Roman  affairs  which  do  not  concern  him  or  his  office  ("gli  era 
suto  promisso  non  s'impaccerebbe  delle  cose  di  qua,  come  dicono  non 
essere  suo  offitio  ne  appertenersi  a  lui").  The  Pope  advises  you  to 
exhort  him  accordingly  ;  it  should  be  enough  for  him  that  his  Holiness 
tolerates  ("supporta")  his  preaching  againt  his  will. 

18M  March;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.* — The  city  is  full  of  discord  by 
reason  of  Savonarola,  who  governs  the  city  after  his  own  fashion,  and 
appoints  the  Signory  and  all  the  magistrates  (!).  Two-thirds  of  the  people 
are  in  favour  of  the  Friar.  He  has  said  in  public  that  the  people  are 
not  bound  to  obey  the  Pope,  and  that  if  he  were  to  place  the  city  under 
an  interdict,  this  would  be  invalid,  because  he  is  no  true  Pope.  It  is 
thought  that  he  will  soon  do  so,  for  the  Eight  have  not  allowed  the 
Pope's  messenger  to  present  the  inhibition,  "but  I  understand  that 
they  have  conducted  him  outside  the  city." 

20ih  March ;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^ — Four  Cardinals  have  interceded 
for  Savonarola,  but  in  vain.  The  Pope  will  grant  no  spiritual  favours 
to  the  city  in  the  present  state  of  things.     Such  is  the  power  of  calumny. 

24///  March ;  Pandolfini  (Bishop  of  Pistoia)  to  the  Ten." — He  has  had 
a  long  conversation  with  the  Pope  (chiefly  on  political  matters).  As 
regards  Fra  Girolamo,  "  I  told  his  Holiness  that  I  had  understood  that 
he  had  been  inhibited  from  preaching,  but  that  afterwards  permission 

'  Gherardi,  p.  137. 

2  Ibid. 

8  Ibid.,  p.   138. 

*  Del  Lungo,  n.  3.  Del  Lungo  and  Cosci  (pp.  299  ^1717.)  erroneously 
ascribe  this  letter  to  the  previous  year,  I495.  Both  have  been  deceived  by  a 
date  given  in  the  Florentine  style. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  139. 

®  Marchese,  n.  3.  We  pass  over  here  tliree  short  letters  of  Becchi  and  uf 
the  Ten  dated  24th,  25th,  and  26th  March  (Gherardi,  pp.  139  si^q.). 


204  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

had  been  given  through  a  certain  Cardinal  (avere  inteso  esserli  stata 
inibita  la  predica  .  .  .  e  poi  permessa  per  relatione  d'uno  Cardinale) ; 
that  accordingly  we  did  not  consider  ourselves  disobedient,  especially  as 
the  preacher's  intentions  were  good."  His  Holiness  replied  :  "  Well,  we 
will  not  speak  of  Fra  Hyeronimo  {sic)  now,"  and  so  turned  the  con- 
versation. 

26//;  March;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^— The  Pope  and  the  Cardinals 
declare  that  our  city  suffers  great  dishonour  and  some  danger  from 
allowing  such  license  to  the  Friar,  and  to  the  children  and  to  the 
common  people.  The  complaint  now  is  not  of  Fra  Girolamo,  but  of  the 
government  which  permits  these  things,  viz.  (i)  that  he  persists  in 
preaching  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  Pope  ;  (2)  that  he  speaks  ill  of  the 
Pope,  the  Cardinals,  and  of  the  whole  court  of  Rome,  as  if  he  had  some 
special  charge  of  them  ("come  s'apartenessi  particolarmente  a  sua 
Paternitk");  (3)  that  he  writes  and  affirms  that  he  is  a  prophet,  and 
that  he  converses  with  God  ;  (4)  that  he  does  away  with  freedom  of 
discussion,  in  order  to  give  more  assurance  ("  per  dare  ardire  ")  to  the 
children  and  to  the  common  people  ;  (5)  that  even  if  all  this  were  false, 
it  is  dishonourable  to  the  city  that  all  the  world  should  be  able  to 
say  that  it  is  governed  by  a  Friar  and  a  troop  of  children  ;  and  indeed 
it  is  feared  lest  this  government  by  children  will  have  some  scandalous 
and  disastrous  result  for  the  State.  In  a  word,  you  are  accused  of 
having  lost  your  heads,  and  these  are  the  things  that  the  Pope  com- 
plains of  in  conversation  alike  with  the  envoys  of  the  League,  and  with 
those  who  speak  in  your  favour. 

^otk  March;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^— He  understands  that  the  Pope  has 
committed  the  case  of  Savonarola  to  two  Cardinals  and  to  two  Bishops, 
and  has  ordered  Torriano,  the  General  of  the  Dominicans,  to  proceed 
juridically  against  the  Friar. 

Soth  March ;  The  Ten  to  Becchi.^— All  these  accusations  of  which  you 
speak  are  fables  and  inventions  of  our  enemies.  But  as  Lent  is  now 
past,  it  is  useless  to  ask  any  further  permission. 

Sth  April;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^— The  ambassador  reports  the  discus- 
sion held  by  a  commission  of  fourteen  Dominican  theologians,  in  presence 
of  the  Pope,  on  the  affair  of  Savonarola.  The  Pope  began  by  showing 
that  he  wished  by  all  means  to  punish  him  "  as  a  heretic,  a  schismatic, 
a  man  disobedient  to  the  Holy  See  and  superstitious,"  and  to  punish  not 
him  alone,  but  all  who  favour  him  ("  che  per  lui  fussino").  Hereupon  one 
Master  Nicholas,  of  Naples,  entered  a  vigorous  protest  ("et  parmi  si 
portassi  assai  honestamente") ;  but  many  others  followed  who  attacked  the 
Friar  with  warmth  and  bitterness,  all  being  of  opinion  that  some  measure 
should  be  taken  against  him  except  one  ("  uno  giovane "),  who  valiantly 

*  Ghcrardi,  pp.  140  sqq. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  142. 
8  Ibid. 

*  Marchese,  n.  4.     It  is  cleat  that  iJecchi's  report  is  louuded  un  licarsay. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  aoj 

took  up  his  defence,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  the  Pope.  And  either 
the  Pope  or  one  of  the  theologians  declared  that  Fra  Hieronymo 
was  the  cause  of  all  the  misfortunes  of  Piero  (de'  Medici).  Becchi, 
having  heard  of  this  affair,  has  induced  the  Cardinals  of  Perugia  and 
Segorbe  (Lopez  and  Marlino)  and  the  Bishop  of  Capaccio  (Podocatharus, 
a  Greek),  to  dissuade  the  Pope  from  taking  action  in  the  matter.  The  Pope 
has  been  appeased,  and  will  abstain  from  any  hostile  measure  ;  ^  but  he 
has  told  Capaccio  to  inform  the  Ten,  through  Becchi,  that  "his  Paternity 
ought  to  speak  modestly  of  his  Holiness,  and  the  most  reverend 
Cardinals  and  other  prelates,  and  that  he  ought  not  to  transgress  the 
methods  of  other  excellent  and  admirable  preachers,  nor  to  open  his 
mouth  on  things  which  do  not  pertain  to  him  or  to  his  office,  and 
accordingly  that  he  should  not  meddle  in  secular  matters  and  afifairs 
of  State."  2 

13//:  April  J  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^ — It  would  be  well  that  they  or  the 
Signory  should  write  a  submissive  letter  to  the  Pope,  declaring  in 
particular  that  they  have  urged  Fra  Girolamo  to  obey  his  Holiness,  and 
to  speak  with  moderation  ("  modestamente ")  of  him,  of  the  College  of 
Cardinals,  of  the  Roman  Court,  and  of  Roman  afifairs  in  general. 

It  was  a  timely  warning,  as  appears  from  a  letter  written  two  days 
later  by  Cardinal  Ascanio  Sforza  to  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Milan 
(15th  April).4  He  has  told  his  Holiness  of  the  Duke's  suggestion 
that  he  should  send  to  Florence  a  Vicar-General  of  the  Franciscan 
Order  (  "de  le  Zoccole"),  "per  il  suspecto  ha  de  frate  Hieronymo." 
The  Pope  has  replied  that  if  the  Duke  thinks  it  desirable  he  will 
write  a  Brief  to  Fra  Hieronymo,  summoning  him  to  Rome,  and  will 
afterwards  appoint  a  Vicar  whom  the  Duke  will  approve  (or  choose  ? 
"  chi  piacera  a  quella  ").  But  the  Brief  was  not  written,  for  the  next 
news  from  Florence  relieved  somewhat  the  tension  of  affairs. 

\bth  April]  The  Signory  to  Becchi."— Fra  Girolamo  has  spoken  with 
perfect  respect  ("molto  costumatamente  "  )  of  His  HoHness,  etc.  They 
understand  that  he  has  now  gone  to  Prato  and  Pistoia.  It  is  entirely 
false  that  he  has  the  city  under  his  domination.  He  has  never  sought 
any  such  thing,  and  any  information  to  this  effect  is  a  calumny. 

23r^^/;77;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.*'— The  Pope  is  well  satisfied  ("assai 
ben  satisfacto  ")  concerning  the  affairs  of  Fra  Girolamo. 

'  "  In  modo  lo  placo  et  dispose  a  volere  soprasedere." 

»  Another  letter  from  Becchi,  of  the  same  date,  is  given  by  Gherardi,  p.  143. 
It  contains  nothing  of  importance. 

3  Gherardi,  p.  143. 

*  Del  Lungo,  n.  7. 

"  Marchese,  p.  172  {note)  with  the  erroneous  date  (as  pointed  out  by  Gherardi) 
l6th  April  1498. 

^  Gherardi,  p.  144. 


w^ 


CHAPTER  XI 

PROPHET   AND  POPE    (2) 

'ITH  Savonarola's  departure  for  Prato  and  Pistoia,  in  April 
1496,  there  comes  a  lull  in  the  correspondence  with  Rome 
on  the  subject  of  his  preaching  and  prophecies,  and  the  events  of  the 
succeeding  months  are  more  sparsely  illustrated  in  the  published 
documents.  The  Dominican  Convent  at  Prato  had  been  subjected, 
as  has  been  seen,  to  that  of  S.  Marco,  with  encouragement  from  the 
Signory  of  Florence  and  with  the  full  concurrence  of  the  General,  in 
the  January  of  this  year.^  Fra  Antonio  d'Olandia  had  been  appointed 
Prior,  and  he  had  lost  no  time  in  inviting  Savonarola  to  deliver  a 
course  of  sermons  in  the  church  attached  to  the  convent.^  The 
event  fully  justified  his  expectations,  for  Fra  Girolamo's  brief  stay  at 
Prato  produced  very  remarkable  results.  It  was  not  merely  that 
people  flocked  in  from  Florence  and  all  the  country  round  to  hear 
him.3  The  professors  of  the  Pisan  "Studio"  or  University,  then 
located  at  Prato  by  reason  of  the  war  with  Pisa,  attended  his  sermons, 
and  he  gained  among  them  some  distinguished  adherents.  Cinozzi 
relates  how,  after  one  of  his  sermons,  Ulivieri,  a  canon  of  Florence, 
and  a  very  learned  man,  openly  exclaimed  :  "  My  scholars,  and  all  of 
you,  let  us  take  our  books  and  follow  this  man ;  and  indeed  we  are 
hardly  worthy  to  be  his  disciples."  ^  But,  more  than  this,  the  work 
of  moral  and  political  reform  was  seriously  taken  in  hand.  Gherardi 
has  brought  to  light  a  list  of  subscriptions  to  a  document  which  is 

»  The  documents  are  given  by  Gherardi,  pp.  74  sqq.,  and  have  been  summarised 
above  in  ch.  vii. 

2  Gherardi,  p.  84. 

3  '<  Fuvvi  tanto  popolo  di  Firenze  e  del  contado  che  pioveva  la  ognuno  "  is 
the  forcible  and  quaint  expression  of  Landucci  {Diario,  17th  April). 

*  "  Andiamo  e  portiamo  e  Hbri  drieto  a  questo  uomo,  che  anche  a  pena  ne 
siamo  degni "  (Cinozzi,  p.  6).  Burlamacchi,  forgetful  of  this  transference  of  the 
"Studio,"  takes  Savonarola  to  Pisa  (p.  75),  about  the  last  place  he  would  have 

been  likelv  to  visit  at  this  time. 
206 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  207 

itself  unfortunately  lost,  hut  which  must  have  contained  some  kind 
oi  forma  vivc/tdi  which  had  its  political  as  well  as  its  religious  side. 
The  most  explicit  of  the  subscriptions  run  in  the  following  or  similar 
terms  :  "  I,  Michele  Ghimenti,  am  content  to  live  under  a  popular 
government  (vivere  appopolo),  and  to  live  well,"  i.e.  in  accordance 
with  the  dictates  of  religion.  Such  a  mode  of  life,  the  last  of  the 
subscribers  emphatically  declares,  is  better  for  soul  and  body.^  The 
necessity  for  such  a  reform,  at  least  as  regards  conduct,  had  been 
urgently  impressed  upon  the  Podest^,  or  Governor,  of  Prato,  in  a 
letter  despatched  to  him  by  the  Florentine  Signory  on  17th  January.- 
To  this  period  belongs  a  brief  correspondence,  published  by 
Villari,  between  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  arch-enemy,  Lodovico  Sforza, 
which  we  here  summarise  : — 

i\f/i  Ap/i7  1496  ;  Savonarola  to  Sforza.^— He  is  told  that  the  Duke 
complains  of  his  sermons  ;  but  this  can  only  arise  from  his  having 
been  deceived  by  evil-disposed  persons  who  have  represented  him  as 
hostile  to  his  Highness  ;  whereas  he  loves  both  him  and  all  the 
princes  of  Italy,  nay,  all  mankind,  and  is  ready  to  die  for  their  salvation. 
"And  because  the  grace  of  God  has  enlightened  me  concerning  the 
ruin  which  He  has  prepared  for  Italy  ...  I  have  invited  and  e.xhorted 
men  to  penance  .  .  .  warning  them  that  there  is  no  other  remedy." 
But  though  Italy  has  heard  his  voice,  there  is  no  amendment,  but 
matters  are  going  from  bad  to  worse  ;  and  God,  instead  of  being  appeased, 
is  even  more  angry  than  before.  "  Wherefore,  my  lord,  I  admonish  you 
that  there  is  no  other  remedy  for  you,  and  I  exhort  your  Highness  to 
acknowledge  your  Saviour,  and  to  do  penance  for  your  sins,  for  the 
scourge  draws  near."  If  he  will  repent,  God  will  pardon  him  and  give 
him  prosperity,  otherwise  his  affairs  will  go  to  ruin  ;  "  and  the  end  will 
show  that  my  advice  has  been  wiser  than  any  other  which  has  been 
given  you."  The  writer  declares  that  he  has  spoken  thus  from  no 
human  motive  and  with  no  hope  of  reward.  "  Indeed,  for  these  words 
of  mine  I  expect  no  other  return  than  disgrace  .  .  .  and  persecution, 
and  at  last  death,  for  which  I  look  with  an  earnest  desire  ...  for  '  to 
me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.'" 

In  after  years,  during  his  long  imprisonment  at  Loches,  under 
Louis  XII.  of  France,  Sforza  had  ample  leisure  to  meditate  on  the 
wise  counsel  which  had  been  so  fearlessly  proffered  him  in  the  days 
of  his  prosperity;  and,  if  we  may  trust  the  chronicler  Filipepi,  he 

'  "  Vorrei  si  vivesse  bene  e  massime  appopolo,  perche  sara  milgliore  vivere  e 
per  I'anima  e  per  il  corpo"  (Gherardi,  pp.  87-91). 

^  He  is  to  put  down  gambling,  blasphemy,  the  habit  of  working  on  holy  days 
and  street-walking  by  night  (Gherardi,  p.  91). 

'  Villari  and  Casanova,  pp.  441-42. 


2o8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

then  at  least  had  the  grace  to  acknowledge  the  justice  of  Savonarola's 
words.  It  may  be  added  that  at  about  the  same  time  Fra  Girolamo 
addressed  a  letter  in  identical  terms  to  Galeazzo  della  Mirandola, 
and  possibly  also  to  other  Italian  princes.^ 

\2th  April;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.^ — A  covering  letter  to  the  above, 
wherein  the  Milanese  envoy  reports  that  Fra  Girolamo  is  desirous  to 
maintain  friendly  relations  with  his  master.  And  considering  that  "el 
dicto  Frate"  has  all  the  common  folk  under  his  control,  it  would  perhaps 
be  a  good  plan  to  give  him  assurances  of  good-will,  to  the  end  that  he 
may  bring  over  the  city  to  a  proper  regard  for  his  Highness.  Your 
Highness,  he  suggests,  will  do  well  to  assure  him  of  your  good  dis- 
positions towards  the  Florentine  Republic,  and  your  willingness  to  help 
them  to  recover  Pisa,  if  only  they  will  be  tractable  ("  se  da  questo  popolo 
non  mancherk  ")• 

2f>th  April;  Sforza  to  Savonarola.^ — The  Duke  takes  it  in  good  part 
that  Fra  Girolamo  has  written  to  him  with  frankness.  He  will  not  deny 
that  he  had  disapproved  of  what  had  been  reported  to  him,  viz.  that 
Savonarola  had  declared  in  the  pulpit  that  he  was  not  bound  to  obey  His 
Holiness.  It  seems  to  him  that  every  one,  and  more  especially  religious 
men,  ought  not  merely  to  entertain  in  the  mind  the  respect  which  is  due 
to  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  but  also  to  speak  of  him  with  reverence.  As  for 
the  Friar's  exhortation  to  the  princes  of  Italy  to  do  penance,  he  for  his 
part  fears  God  no  less,  and  is  no  less  earnest  in  his  endeavour  to  do  his 
duty  as  a  good  Christian,  than  any  religious  man  of  his  acquaintance 
("non  manco  .  .  .  ch'alcuno  cha  qual  se  vogli  religioso  sii").  As  for 
sin,  he  is  not  conscious  of  any  sin  for  which  he  ought  to  do  penance. 
But  if  his  correspondent  will  be  so  good  as  to  tell  him  what  penance  he 
ought  to  perform,  he  will  gladly  undertake  it. 

The  letter  concludes  with  expressions  of  gratitude  and  esteem 
which  were,  perhaps,  hardly  likely  to  weigh  much  with  the  austere 
and  zealous  Prior  of  S.  Marco. 

^^th  April;  Savonarola  to  Sforza.*— While  thanking  the  Duke  for 
his  gracious  letter,  he  assures  him  that  he  has  never  asserted  uncon- 
ditionally that  obedience  is  not  due  to  the  Pope.  As  for  his  general 
exhortations  to  penance,  he  passes  judgment  on  no  one  in  particular. 
He  is  glad  to  hear  that  the  Duke  lives  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  he  can 
commend  him  to  no  better  judge  than  his  own  conscience. 

1  Villari  and  Casanova,  loc.  cit.,  "  Questa  lettera  .  .  .  pare  che  sia  un 
circolare."  The  letter  to  Mirandola  is  given  by  Marchese,  p.  124.  It  bears  no 
date,  but  was  probably  sent  in  March.  A  second  letter,  containing  more  explicit 
warnings  of  an  impending  calamity,  is  dated  26lh  March  (Marchese,  p.  125). 
The  premature  death  of  Galeazzo  occurred  within  two  years  (Schnitzer,  p.  569). 

2  Villari,  i.  Append,  p.  cxxxviii. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  cxxxvi. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  cxxxv. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  io^ 

We  may  add  here  that  .Somenzi's  hopes  of  being  able  to  win  over 
Fra  Girolanio  to  the  side  of  the  League  were  again  revived  about  six 
months  later.  Needless  to  say,  they  proved  altogether  vain,  as 
Tranchedino  had  predicted  that  they  would. ^ 

Already  in  May  Savonarola  was  again  in  Florence,  and  from  time 
to  time,  on  Sundays  and  festivals,  delivered  his  sermons  on  Ruth  and 
Micheas.  These  discourses  were  hardly  less  calculated  to  arouse  re- 
sentment in  Rome  than  those  of  the  Lenten  course  on  Amos  and 
Zacharias.  The  preacher  is  confident  of  his  mission  to  all  Italy.  His 
pulpit  is  the  centre  whence  the  voice  of  warning  must  spread  on  every 
side.2  And  it  is  directed,  in  the  first  instance,  to  those  who  rule  and 
govern  the  Church.^  To  Italy  and  to  Rome  he  proclaims  that  "God 
will  come  forth  from  His  place.  He  has  waited  so  long  that  He  can 
delay  no  longer."  "  I  announce  to  you  that  God  will  unsheath  His 
sword,  and  will  send  a  foreign  invader  .  .  .  and  there  will  be  so 
much  bloodshed,  so  much  cruelty,  that  you  will  say :  '  O  God,  Thou 
hast  come  forth  from  Thy  place.' "^  God  will  come  down,  and  will 
trample  upon  Italy  and  upon  Rome ;  priests,  bishops,  cardinals,  and 
"gran  maestri"  shall  be  trodden  down.^  Rome  is  bidden  not  to 
trust  blindly  to  her  possession  of  the  relics  of  the  Apostles,  like  those 
who  in  the  days  of  Jeremiah  comforted  themselves  with  the  vain 
assurance;  "Templum  Domini,  templum  Domini  est."^  It  is  not 
lawful/(?r  se  for  the  laity  to  punish  a  bad  priest.  The  matter  must  be 
laid  before  his  ecclesiastical  superior,  bishop  or  archbishop,  or  the 
Pope  himself.  "  But  if  they  will  not  act,  then  you  not  only  may  but 
ought  to  expel  him  (cacciarlo),  nor  will  you  by  so  doing  incur  any 
excommunication  for  a  breach  of  ecclesiastical  immunity."  '^  The 
liberty  of  Christ  stands  above  ecclesiastical  immunities.     "  But  if 

^  Somenzi  to  Sforza,  7th  and  13th  November  (Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  cxxxviii. 
sjg.).  Tranchedino,  on  the  other  hand,  warns  the  Duke  (aSth  October)  that  he 
must  give  up  soft  measures  "cum  quelli  che  hanno  il  pelo  asinino,"  and  assures 
him  (9th  November)  that  the  P'riar  is  not  to  be  trusted  ;  because,  if  he  were  to 
dissociate  himself  from  the  French  faction,  he  would  be  ignominiously  chased  out 
of  the  city  ("saria  spaciato  per  pubblica  bestia  in  Fiorenza";  del  Lungo, 
nn.  17,  18). 

2  "Noipredichiamoatutta  ITtalia  .  .  .  e  di  qui  si  diffonde  la  voce  per  tutto  " 
(Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta,  p.  242). 

3  Ibid.,  p.  243. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  246. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  247. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  24S ;  Jer.  vii.  4. 
'  I  bid.  t  p.  250. 


2IO  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

even  Christ  were  to  say  that  a  bad  priest  must  not  be  cast  forth,  then 
you  would  say  that  Christ  Himself  was  wicked;  sed  hoc  absit."^ 
Rome  is  the  very  fount  and  origin  of  sin  ;  the  queen  of  all  wickedness ; 
the  queen  of  pride,  of  luxury,  and  of  every  vice,  the  source  and 
cause  of  the  sins  of  other  priests  and  of  other  Christians.- 

It  may  be  readily  conceded  that  not  a  word  of  the  preacher's 
bitter  reproaches  went  beyond  the  facts  of  the  case.  When  some 
one,  half  a  century  ago,  reproached  the  then  editor  of  The  Tablet 
with  having  published  a  report  of  some  proceedings  which  was,  he 
said,  "scandalously  false,"  the  editor  defended  himself  by  assuring 
his  correspondent  that  unfortunately  the  report  in  question  was 
"scandalously  true."  And  so  with  perfect  justice  might  Savonarola 
have  said  of  the  invectives  scattered  through  these  sermons.  Whether 
it  was  prudent,  whether,  after  the  warnings  addressed  to  him,  it  was 
right  to  proclaim  in  these  particular  truths  from  the  pulpit,  coram 
populo  Florentitio,  is  a  point  which  may  be  left  to  the  judgment  of 
the  reader.  Provocative  however  as  his  language  was  during  this 
summer  season,  the  irritation  was  at  least  less  continuous  than  it  had 
been  during  Lent,  and  it  seems  probable  that  to  this  period  must  be 
referred  the  attempt  made  by  Alexander  to  win  over  the  Friar  by  the 
offer  of  a  Cardinal's  hat.  This  incident  has  been  regarded  as  afford- 
ing evidence  of  the  Pope's  extraordinary  inconsistency.  To  us  it 
does  not  appear  altogether  in  this  light.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Alexander,  notwithstanding  his  own  vices,  appreciated  the  zeal 
of  the  Friar,  and  regarded  him  as  an  earnest  but  misguided  man. 
To  save  such  a  man  from  the  evil  consequences  of  his  own  obstinacy 
was  an  end  worthy  of  being  achieved ;  and  the  offer  of  preferment 
was  in  itself,  if  we  abstract  from  the  selfishness  of  the  motive,  a  very 
legitimate  means  for  the  attainment  of  the  end.  But  the  offer  was 
rejected  with  scorn.  The  preacher  wished  for  no  other  kind  of  red 
hat  than  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  and  so,  with  characteristic 
vehemence,  he  told  the  people.^ 

^  "  Cosi  ancora  se  Cristo  ci  rispondesse  che  non  volesse  che  lo  cacciassimo, 
tu  diresti  Cristo  cattivo  ;  sed  hoc  absit,  che  non  si  puo  dire"  {ibid.,  p.  251). 

2  Ibtd.,  p.  252. 

^  "  lo  non  voglio  cappelli,  non  mitre  grandi  ne  piccole  ;  non  voglio  se  non 
quello  che  tu  hai  dato  ai  tuoi  santi,  la  morte ;  un  cappello  rosso,  un  cappello  di 
sangue  ;  questo  desidero"  (S.  19  on  Ruth,  etc.,  20th  August  1496;  Villari,  i. 
419).  The  fact  of  the  offer  is  mentioned  by  Burlamacchi  (p.  85),  but  without 
any  specification  of  the  date.  The  contemporary  chronicler,  Parenli,  places  the 
incident,  which,  however,  he  gives  only  as  a  matter  of  common  report,  in  May, 
1496  (Schnitzer,  p.  645).     The  Papal  messenger  was  believed  by  some  to  have 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  211 

Meanwhile  the  temporal  condition  of  Florence  was,  in  many 
respects,  going  from  bad  to  worse.  Perpetual  rains  had  destroyed 
the  harvest ;  ^  the  war  with  Pisa  had  drained  the  exchequer ;  ^  sickness 
was  rife  among  the  population,^  and  the  hopes  which  had  been  placed 
in  the  French  King  were  again  and  again  deluded.*  It  was  obviously 
ungrateful,  as  well  as  unjust,  to  throw  the  blame  of  these  disasters 
on  Fra  Girolamo,  but  it  is  plain  that  his  influence  was  seriously 
threatened.  His  sermon  on  20th  August,  preached  in  the  recently 
completed  Hall  of  the  Great  Council,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Signory, 
is  a  kind  of  afo/ogia  pro  vita  sua.  He  took  for  his  text  the  words  : 
"Domine  quid  multiplicati  sunt  qui  tribulant  me?" 

He  is  accused  [he  says]  of  having  brought  about  the  ruin  of  the  city 
("tu  di'  che  io  ho  guasto  la  cittk").  But  how?  He  has  urged  the 
appointment  of  the  Great  Council,  the  appeal  against  the  sentence  of  the 
sei/ave,  the  abolition  of  the  Parlamento.  Are  these  things  a  matter  of 
complaint  ?  Of  this  he  is  certain,  that  under  any  other  kind  of  govern- 
ment everything  would  have  gone  to  rack  and  ruin  ("  voi  andavate  a 
sangue  e  fuoco  e  fiamme  "),  for  the  factions  which  are  rife  in  the  city,  and 
which  are  the  evil  inheritance  of  an  evil  past,  are  full  of  rancour  and  of 
vengeful  intentions.  If  the  citizens  had  followed  his  advice  they  would 
not  now  be  suffering  tribulation.  It  is  complained  that  he  has  made  the 
city's  laws.  But  if  they  are  good  laws  what  ground  for  complaint  can 
there  be?  He  is  accused  of  having  opposed  the  League.  He  has  said 
nothing  at  all  about  the  League.  But  he  has  spoken  of  "  Lilies  and 
Lilies."  5  They  have  misunderstood  him.  He  has  indeed  written  to  the 
King  of  France,  but  only  to  warn  him  of  what  would  befall  him  if  he 
should  fail  in  his  duty.  And  as  to  the  famine,  the  poor  assuredly  have 
little  cause  to  complain  of  him,  for  he  has  spared  no  pains  to  collect  alms 
for  their  relief.  ® 

been  no  other  than  Casar  Borgia  (!),  the  Pope's  own  son.  Burlamacchi,  on  the 
other  hand,  tells  us  that  the  offer  was  made  through  a  Dominican  friar,  to  whom 
Savonarola  replied  that  if  he  would  come  to  his  next  sermon  he  should  have  his 
answer.  If  this  was  so,  it  would  seem  that  the  proposal  must  have  been  made 
shortly  before  20th  August.  It  is  just  possible  that  the  whole  story  has  grown 
out  of  Fra  Girolamo's  own  words  above  quoted,  and  that  they,  in  their  turn,  rested 
on  a  less  substantial  foundation  than  an  ofticial  proffer  of  the  hat. 

^  Landucci,  Diario,  4th  and  i8th  May,  6th  June,  20th  and  22nd  August,  19th 
September. 

2  Tranchedino  and  Somenzi  to  Sforza,  8th  June,  20lh  and  22nd  July  (del 
Lungo,  nn.  8-10)  ;  Landucci,  23rd  July,  4th  August. 

^  Landucci,  2Slh  May,  2Slh  June,  8th  July. 

*  Ibid.,  2nd  and  3rd  May  {"  fu  da  beffc" — "he  has  been  making  game  of 
us  "),  and  24th. 

^  Cf.  supra,  p.  62. 

"  S.  19  on  Ruth,  etc.  (Villari  and  Casanova,  pp.  253   s<iq.). 


212         -  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

A  few  days  later,  on  28th  August,  the  Friar  was  the  victim  of  a 
nefarious  plot.  A  forged  letter,  alleged  to  have  been  written  by  him 
to  Charles  VIII.,  was  intercepted  by  the  emissaries  of  Sforza,  and, 
notwithstanding  all  his  protests,  the  affair  involved  him  in  a  serious 
misunderstanding  with  the  French  ambassador.^ 

In  October  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  who  had  already  sent  an 
ambassador  to  Florence  to  induce  the  Signory  to  join  the  League, 
but  in  vain,  himself  appeared  in  Italy,  and  betook  himself  to  Pisa, 
whence  he  threatened  all  kinds  of  hostile  measures.^  At  this 
juncture,  on  28th  October,  by  the  special  invitation  of  the  Signory, 
Fra  Girolamo  once  more  raised  his  voice  to  inspire  his  fellow-citizens 
with  confidence,  and  to  dissuade  them  from  allowing  themselves  to 
be  frightened  into  any  constitutional  change.  Somenzi  declares  that 
on  this  occasion  he  exhorted  them  to  stand  firm  to  their  alliance 
with  the  French  king,  whom,  however,  he  did  not  mention  by 
name.^  But  the  actual  words  of  the  Friar — if  the  lengthy  extracts 
given  by  Villari  and  Casanova  fairly  represent  the  contents  of  the 
sermon — can  hardly  be  said  to  bear  out  the  report  of  the  Milanese 
envoy. 

He  reminds  his  hearers  that  they  have  again  and  again  been  delivered, 
by  the  mercy  of  God,  and  through  his  own  instrumentaHty,  from  impending 
evils.  He  reminds  them  of  the  revolution  effected  without  bloodshed  just 
two  years  previously,  of  his  own  mediation  with  Charles  VIII.  on  behalf 
of  the  republic,  and  of  other  divine  favours  which  he  will  not  mention  in 
detail.  And  now,  what  has  been  the  gratitude  of  the  people  ?  Those  who 
had  lived  in  exile,  and  who  have  been  allowed  to  return  to  the  city,  are 
now  plotting  her  ruin  {i.e.  the  Arrabbiati).  Men  who  have  had  the  rope 
round  their  necks  (the  Palleschi),  and  have  benefited  by  the  amnesty,  are 
now  conspiring  on  their  own  account.     And  lastly,  the  magistrates  who 

^  Somenzi  to  Sforza,  28th  August,  2nd,  3rd,  8th  September  ;  Tranchedino, 
l6th  September  (del  Lungo,  nn.  I1-14) ;  Landucci,  2nd  September  ("  Lo'nbascia- 
dore  di  Francia  ando  su  alia  Signoria  a  dire  che  questo  Frate  era  quello  che 
guastava  Firenze.  El  povero  Frate  aveva  tanti  nimici ! ").  Manfredi's  letter  to 
d'Este,  referring  apparently  to  the  same  incident,  but  dated  28th  May  (Cappelli, 
n.  100)  has  surely  been  misplaced.     The  date  should  be  28th  August. 

^  Landucci,  19th  and  22nd  August  (the  embassy) ;  14th  October  (the 
Emperor  has  left  Genoa  for  Pisa) ;  24th  October  (he  has  arrived  at  Pisa,  and 
threatens  to  ravage  the  country). 

2  "  El  Frate  ha  predicato  in  questa  mattina  et  ha  dicto  mirabilia.  Sopratucto 
exhorto  questo  populo  ad  volere  star  saldo  alia  fede,  cioe  del  Re  di  Franza  (licet 
ch'  el  non  la  dica),  et  ha  affirmato  che  tutto  quello  ha  predicto  de  le  cose  future 
sara  vero  senza  mancho ;  cio  e  che  tucta  Italia  ha  a  ruinare,  excepto  Fiorentini 
se  stano  saldi,"  etc.  (Somenzi  to  Sforza,  28th  October;  Del  Lungo,  n.  16). 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  213 

have  been  elected  under  the  new  constitution  liave  neglected  their  duty,  and 
have  been  afraid  to  punish  crime.  Profane  language,  gambling,  and  the 
worst  kind  of  vice  are  still  rife  in  the  city.  "  It  is  these  things  which  are 
the  cause  of  our  tribulations.  The  good  things  which  I  have  predicted 
for  Florence  will  come,  but  the  wicked  will  have  their  hell  in  this  world 
and  the  next.  You  err  by  putting  your  trust  in  men,  and  in  always  look- 
ing for  help  from  that  king  who  never  comes,  and  who  has  already  been 
punished  as  we  predicted.  If  only  you  will  return  to  God,  and  will  stand 
united,  I  promise  you  that  you  shall  put  your  enemies  to  flight.  Nay,  I 
would  myself  be  the  fust  to  go  forth  against  them  with  the  crucifix  in  my 
hand,  and  we  will  chase  our  enemies  as  far  as  Pisa  and  beyond.'" 

This  remarkable  sermon  was  followed  two  days  later  by  the 
welcome  news  of  the  safe  arrival  of  certain  ships  from  Marseilles 
laden  with  corn.  The  bearer  of  these  glad  tidings  arrived  at  the 
very  moment  when  a  solemn  procession,  accompanying  the  statue  of 
the  Madonna  dell'  Impruneta  was  entering  the  city ;  and  the  scene 
of  wild  excitement  which  ensued  has  been  immortalised  by  the 
author  of  Romola?-  The  relief,  indeed,  was  remarkable  rather  for  its 
opportuneness  than  for  its  magnitude.  For  months  afterwards  the 
diary  of  Landucci  bears  witness  to  a  steady  rise  in  the  price  of  corn, 
and  to  an  increasing  number  of  deaths  from  famine.^  But  for  the 
moment,  at  least,  the  scales  of  popular  favour  were  once  more 
decidedly  turned  in  favour  of  Fra  GirolamC^ 

Within  a  fortnight,  however,  of  the  arrival  of  the  corn  ships  a 
fresh  blow  fell  upon  him.  This  was  the  Brief,  Reformationi  et 
augmento,  dated  7th  November,  which,  though  it  was  not  addressed 
to  him  personally,  and  though  it  contains  no  allusion  to  his  affairs, 
nevertheless  profoundly  affected  him,  and  proved  to  be  the  very 
turning-point  which  separates  the  earlier  from  the  later  stages  of  his 
conflict  with  the  Pope.  The  following  is  the  substance  of  the 
Brief:— 

"  Desirous  as  we  are  that  salutary  measures  should  be  taken  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  it  has  seemed  well  that  the  convents  of 


'  The  sermon  is  given  partly  in  Villari,  i.  484  sqq.,  partly  in  Villari  and  Casa- 
nova, Scelta,  etc.,  pp.  258  sqq. 

-  Rotnola,  ch.  xliii.  ;  Landucci  30th  October  ;  Filipepi,  Cronaca,  in  Villari 
and  Casanova,  p.  465.     "  Videsi  chiaramenle  el  miracolo  espresso,"  says  Landucci. 

=*  Landucci,  30th  November  ;  20th  and  25lh  January  1497  ;  20th  and  28th 
February ;  19th  and  27th  March  ;  Sth  and  12th  April  ;  iSlh  and  27th  May  ;  ist 
and  13th  June.  After  this  date  the  prices  decrease  steadily  ;  but  the  plai^ue  con- 
tinues to  ravage  the  city. 

*  Villari,  i.  487. 


214  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

S.  Maria  della  Querela,  near  \'iterbo,  Santo  Spirito  at  Siena,  S.  Caterina  at 
Pisa,  S.  Sabina  in  Rome,  and  S.  Domenico  at  San  Gimignano,  which 
have  hitherto  been  united  to  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy,  should  be 
separated  therefrom,  and  that  together  with  the  houses  of  S.  Maria  sopra 
Minerva  in  Rome,  S.  Maria  at  Viterbo,  S.  Domenico  at  Perugia,  S. 
Domenico  at  Cortona,  S.  Agostino  at  Montepulciano,  S.  Marco  at 
Florence,  S.  Domenico  at  Fiesole,  S.  Maria  del  Sasso  (near  Bibbiena), 
S.  Domenico  at  Prato,  S.  Romano  at  Lucca,  and  S.  Domenico  at  Pistoia, 
they  should  be  formed  into  a  new  Congi'egation  of  the  stricter  observance, 
to  be  called  the  Congregation  of  the  Roman  and  Tuscan  Province.^ 
Accordingly,  we  hereby  separate  the  convents  first  above  named  from  the 
Lombard  Congregation,  and  unite  them  to  those  other  convents  after- 
wards enumerated,  and  we  erect  and  establish  a  new  Congregation  of 
the  stricter  observance  to  be  designated  as  has  been  said. 

"A  vicar  of  the  said  Congregation  shall  forthwith  be  appointed  by 
our  venerable  Brother  Olivieri  Cardinal  Caraffa,  who  shall  hold  office 
for  the  space  of  two  years  ;  and  thereafter,  every  two  years  a  new 
vicar  shall  be  elected  by  the  chapter  of  the  Congregation  ;  and  no  vicar 
shall  be  confirmed  in  his  office,  or  re-elected  thereto,  unless  after  an 
interval  of  two  years  from  the  termination  of  his  former  holding  of  the 
same. 

"All  members  of  the  houses  pertaining  to  the  new  Congregation  who 
may  now  be  absent  therefrom,  must  forthwith  return.  The  penalty  of 
excommunication,  latae  sententiae^  will  be  incurred  by  any  one,  of 
whatsoever  condition  or  dignity,  who  shall  presume  to  impugn  {con- 
tradicere)  this  ordinance,  or  to  impede  its  execution."^ 

The  Brief  is  addressed  to  the  brethren  of  the  several  convents 
named  in  it,  and  among  them,  as  will  have  been  observed,  that  of 
S.  Marco  at  Florence  by  no  means  holds  the  first  place.  It  is, 
indeed,  probable  that  one  of  the  motives  which  prompted  the  issue 
of  this  new  ordinance  was  the  desire  to  deprive  Fra  Girolamo  of  the 
comparative  independence  which  he  enjoyed  as  Vicar-General  of 
the  reformed  Congregation  of  S.  Marco ;  but  it  does  not  therefore 
follow  that  the  Brief  deserved  to  be  spoken  of  in  such  terms  as  the 
following : — 

"Afterwards  there  came  a  Brief  prescribing  that  all  the  convents  of 
Tuscany  {i.e.  all  the  observantine  convents)  should  be  united  in  one 
Congregation,  into  which  S.  Marco,  with  the  convents  attached  to  it, 

^  The  term  Congregation,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  employed  to  designate 
a  group  of  houpes  of  the  stricter  observance.  The  idea  seems  to  have  been  to 
make  the  Congregations  conterminous  with  the  Provinces  of  the  Order.  The  con- 
vents of  Tuscany  were  included  in  the  Roman  province, 

'■'  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  cxlii.  scjcj. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  215 

should  also  enter.  In  the  earlier  Brief,  the  Pope  had  wished  us  to 
enter  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy,  from  which  he  had  himself  separated 
us  ;  and  now  they  want  us  to  enter  that  of  Tuscany  ;  now  here  and  now 
there.  This  seems  to  me  like  a  game  of  chess,  when  one  defends  the 
king.  When  he  is  hard  pressed  he  moves  from  one  square  to  another, 
and  then  back  again."  ^ 

This  is  perhaps  hardly  fair  criticism.  After  Alexander  VI.  had 
ordered  the  reunion  of  S.  Marco  with  the  Lombard  Congregation,  he 
had  so  far  yielded  to  the  representations  of  Fra  Girolamo  as  tacitly 
to  withdraw  the  command.  Meanwhile,  Savonarola  had  resumed 
with  renewed  vigour  the  course  of  action  of  which  the  Pope  had 
complained.  Yet  the  Pope  does  not  revive  the  ordinance  against 
which  Savonarola  had  protested,  but  makes  a  new  provision,  far  less 
unfavourable  to  the  Friar,  and,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  far  more 
in  accordance  with  the  Friar's  own  principles.  The  Brief  Reforma- 
iio7ii  et  augmento  was  drawn,  as  it  would  seem,  with  the  full  con- 
currence of  the  General,  Torriano,  who  had  never  shown  any  kind  of 
hostility  to  Savonarola,  and  of  CaraflFa,  hitherto  his  firm  supporter.^ 
But  more  than  this.  In  their  original  petition  for  the  separation 
of  S.  Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congregation,  Savonarola  and  his 
brethren  had  appealed  to  the  principle  that  the  natural  divisions  of 
provinces  ought,  in  accordance  with  the  constitutions,  to  be  main- 
tained in  the  Dominican  Order.  And  it  had  been  part  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  scheme  to  extend  his  reform  not  merely  to  Fiesole,  Prato 
and  Sasso,  but  also  to  Pisa,  Siena,  San  Gimignano,  and  probably  in 
course  of  time  to  Lucca,  Perugia,  and  perhaps  even  to  Viterbo  and 
to  Rome  itself.  But  the  scheme  had  not,  as  has  been  seen,  proved 
uniformly  successful.  At  Pisa  and  Siena  it  had  failed  disastrously. 
At  San  Gimignano  it  had  been  dropped  almost  before  it  was  seriously 
taken  up.  And  probably  one  of  the  main  causes  of  failure  had  been 
the  element  of  political  diplomacy  which   had  been  one  of  its 


1  S.  I  on  Exodus,  nth  February  1498.  Villari  writes,  with  reference  to  the 
Brief:  "Una  volta  sottoposto  il  Savonarola  all'  autoriti  del  nuovo  vicario,  che 
dipendeva  sempre  dal  generale  dell'  Ordine  in  Roma" — as  if  Savonarola  himself 
had  not  been  subject  to  the  same  authority — *'  egli  avrebhe  perduta  quella 
indepenaenza,  per  cut  lanto  aveva  bramata  la  separazione  dai  frati  lomhardi ;  queW 
imperio  sopra  »  suoi,  che  gli  dava  tanta  autorita  in  Firenze"  etc.  (i.  492). 

2  On  Torriano's  part  in  the  matter,  see  itifra,  p.  216.  Bracci  {infra,  p.  258) 
represents  him  as  in  close  relation  with  Caniffa.  Mr  Armstrong  {C.M.H.  i.  178), 
on  grounds  substantially  identical  with  those  quoted  above,  regards  the  provisions 
of  the  Brief  as  by  no  means  unreasonable. 


2i6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

principal  supports.  Yet  if  it  was,  as  Savonarola  had  urged,  an 
anomaly  that  S.  Marco  should  be  united  to  Lombardy,  surely  it  was 
still  more  anomalous  that  half  the  observantine  convents  of  Tuscany 
should  be  separated  from,  while  the  other  half  still  remained  united 
to,  the  Lombard  Congregation.  And  it  can  hardly  be  a  matter  for 
surprise  that  the  superiors  and  the  Cardinal  Protector  of  the  Order 
should  now  take  the  matter  up,  and  enter  upon  a  serious  effort  to 
combine  unity  of  government,  and  a  comparative  simplicity  of 
organisation,  with  internal  reform.  At  any  rate,  in  the  only  three 
documents  bearing  on  the  actual  execution  of  the  Brief  by  Torriano, 
there  is  not  a  trace  of  hostility  to  Savonarola,  but  rather  the  contrary. 
In  a  letter  dated  i8th  November  1496,  Torriano  appoints  Fra 
Giacomo  di  Sicilia,  a  man  entirely  friendly  to  Fra  Girolamo,  to 
undertake  the  carrying  out  of  the  reform.  In  a  second  letter,  of 
24th  November,  he  appoints  new  superiors  at  Siena,  Pisa,  San 
Gimignano  and  la  Querela,  but  not  at  S.  Marco  or  Fiesole  or  Prato, 
and  confirms  Fra  Giacomo  in  the  office  of  Vicar  of  the  Congrega- 
tion. In  a  third  letter,  of  12th  December,  he  ordains  that  Fra 
Giacomo  "  at  the  request  of  Fra  Girolamo  da  Ferrara  "  is  to  send 
some  of  the  community  of  S.  Marco  to  San  Gimignano  and  la 
Querela,  and  is  to  dismiss  those  of  the  brethren  now  resident 
there  whom  Fra  Girolamo  would  wish  to  be  rid  of.^ 

The  scheme  of  union,  however,  found  no  favour  with  the 
community  of  S.  Marco,  who  at  once  despatched  a  letter  of 
remonstrance  to  the  Pope.  That  the  letter  (no  longer  extant) 
received  no  favourable  answer  appears  from  the  manifesto 
entitled  Apologeticum  Fratrum  S.  Marci^  of  which,  though  it 
almost  certainly  belongs  to  a  somewhat  later  date,  it  will  be 
convenient  to  give  the  substance  here.  It  is  introduced  by  a 
preface  from  the  hand  of  Fra  Girolamo  himself. 

"Three  reproaches  [writes  Savonarola]  have  been  made  against  me, 
viz.  (i)  that  I  have  taught  f^ilse  doctrine  (perversum  dogma)  ;  (2)  that  I 
refused  to  obey  when  cited  to  Rome  ;  (3)  that  I  have  not  obeyed  the 
Papal  precept  as  to  the  union  of  S.  Marco  with  the  new  Congregation. 

"To  the  first  I  have  already  replied,  and  my  orthodoxy  will  more 
fully  appear  from  my  work  on  The  Triumph  of  the  Cross,  which  will 
shortly  see  the  light. 

"  To  the  second  I  reply  that  I  received  from  the  Pope  not  a  citation,  but 
a  kind  invitation,  with  which  it  would  be  my  greatest  joy  to  comply  if  I 

'  The  letters  are  given  by  Gherardi,  pp.  144  sq^. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  217 

could.     P.iit  I  cannot  wilhout  risking  my  life,  and  this  every  one  knows 
that  I  am  not  bound  to  do. 

"  As  to  the  third  accusation,  it  really  hardly  concerns  me,  for  the  sub- 
mission to  the  union  does  not  lie  with  me  alone  but  with  my  brethren. 
They  number  about  250  ;  they  are  for  the  most  part  men  distinguished  by 
position,  prudence,  and  learning  ;  they  act  under  no  compulsion  from  me, 
who  am,  moreover,  a  stranger  {i.e.  not  a  Florentine)  in  their  midst.  They 
then  unanimously  protested,  in  a  letter  to  the  Pope,  against  the  proposed 
union,  and  declared  that  they  were  ready  to  suft'er  anything  rather  than 
consent  to  it.  Their  reasons  will  be  here  subjoined  ;  and  whereas  I  know 
well  that  this  will  give  great  displeasure  to  certain  religious,  let  them 
remember  that  they  have  only  themselves  to  thank.  So  long  as  we  could 
we  kept  the  matter  quiet.  But  now  that  they  have  persistently  repeated 
their  accusations,  it  is  our  duty  for  the  sake  of  peace,  of  religion,  and  of 
justice,  to  defend  ourselves." 

So  far  Savonarola's  preface.  The  Apologeticum  proper  now 
follows.  It  falls  naturally  into  three  parts,  viz.  (i)  a  statement  of 
the  reasons  alleged  in  favour  of  the  union  ;  (2)  the  reasons  against 
the  union  ;  (3)  the  answer  to  the  reasons  alleged  in  the  first  part. 
It  must  be  sufficient  here  to  indicate  the  several  points  of  the  argu- 
ment with  the  utmost  brevity. 

I.  It  is  proposed  to  effect  an  union  between  the  reformed  Congregation 
of  S.  Marco  and  the  other  observantine  convents  of  Tuscany,  under  a 
single  vicar,  who  is  to  make  use  of  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco  in  order  by 
their  means  to  reform  the  other  houses.  The  question  is  raised  whether 
a  precept  to  this  effect  is  reasonable.  Its  upholders  urge  the  following 
considerations  as  establishing  the  duty  of  obedience  : — 

1.  The  object  proposed  is  good. 

2.  It  is  more  in  accordance  with  right  order  that  there  should  be  only 
one  vicar  over  the  reformed  Tuscan  houses. 

3.  Tuscan  convents  which  desire  to  be  reformed  will  not  now  be 
obliged  to  attach  themselves  to  another  province. 

4.  If  all  wish  for  the  reform  it  is  unreasonable  for  S.  Marco  to  stand 
aloof. 

5.  Superiors  prescribe  the  union.     They  ought  to  be  obeyed. 

6.  He  who  can  help  his  neighbours  without  inconvenience  to  himself 
ought  to  do  so. 

II.  In  weighing  the  considerations  which  militate  against  the  union,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  such  reasons  ought  to  be  sufficient  as  answer 
to  the  nature  of  the  matter ;  i.e.  probable  reasons  which  appeal  to 
ordinary  human  prudence.  For  no  one  can  rightly  judge  of  such  a 
matter  as  that  of  the  reform  of  an  Order  unless  he  has  practical 
knowledge  of  it.  This  we  claim  to  have.  We  know  what  has  been  done 
^t   S.  Marco.     We  know  what   goes   on  in  other   convents.     Humanly 


2i8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

speaking  the  reform  of  these  convents  is  impossible.  We  are  to  consider 
not  what  God  actually  can  do,  if  He  should  choose  to  work  a  miracle, 
but  rather  what  He  is  wont  to  do,  and  what  we  can  do  in  accordance  with 
what  holy  men  have  written  on  such  matters.  Here,  then,  are  our 
principal  reasons : — 

1.  To  reform  anything  is  to  restore  its  original  form.  Now,  the 
"  forma  "  of  the  religious  life  is  charity.  Without  a  renovation  of  charity 
an  external  reformation  is  to  no  purpose.  But  an  interior  reformation  can 
be  effected  only  by  men  of  consummate  virtue.  Of  such  men,  however, 
there  is  evidently  a  dearth.  How,  then,  is  the  reform  to  be  carried  out? 
Do  they  affirm  that  all  the  religious  of  S.  Marco  are  perfect  men?  If  a 
little  leaven  corrupts  a  great  mass,  how  much  more  sure  will  be  the 
corruption  of  a  few  good  men  mingled  with  many  bad?  Or  will  they 
send  the  best  men  from  S.  Marco  to  govern  other  convents?  The 
answer  is,  that  our  best  men  are  needed  for  the  convents  which  we  have, 
so  great  is  the  concourse  of  young  men  to  our  Congregation.  Or  if  it  be 
said  that  in  the  other  convents  there  are  already  men  fit  to  govern  under 
the  new  reform,  we  answer  :  Where  are  they  ?  How  have  they  lain 
concealed  all  these  years  ? 

2.  It  is  a  maxim  of  the  spiritual  life  that  whereas  worldly  men  and 
sinners  are  often  converted,  lax  religious  are  never,  or  hardly  ever,  brought 
back  to  fervour. 

3.  A  reform  requires  subjects  well  disposed,  and  suitable  agents. 
Both  are  here  wanting. 

4.  The  means  should  be  adapted  to  the  end  in  view.  This  is  not  the 
case  here.  This  subversive  measure  will  drive  many  young  men  from 
our  convents  back  into  the  world,  and  will  hinder  others  from  entering. 

5.  The  servants  of  God  ought  to  be  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the 
children  of  this  world.  But  men  of  the  world  don't  enter  into  partnership 
with  bankrupts. 

6.  Contraries  cannot  be  expected  to  agree.  But  as  nothing  is  better 
than  a  good  religious,  so  nothing  is  worse  than  a  bad  one.  How  absurd, 
then,  to  join  them. 

7.  It  is  useless  to  join  to  what  is  already  good  that  which  can  profit 
nothing  and  may  do  harm. 

8.  Experience  shows  that  the  separation  has  had  good  results. 

9.  Holy  men  have  always  brought  about  reforms  by  separating  the 
fervent  from  the  tepid. 

10.  A  little  spark  will  set  on  fire  a  great  wood  ;  a  single  bad  apple 
will  infect  a  whole  layer. 

11.  The  good  estate  of  a  religious  Order  depends  on  its  government. 
Under  the  new  scheme  there  can  be  no  good  government.  The  Sienese, 
and  more  particularly  the  Pisans,  hate  the  Florentines. 

12.  The  vicar  will  be  either  a  bad  man,  or  a  mediocrity,  or  a  man  of 
high  virtue.     If  he  be  a  bad  man  all  will  go  amiss.     If  he  be  a  mediocrity, 

'sub  specie  boni  confundet  omnia,"  by  trying  to  please  both  parties.     If 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  219 

he  is  a  holy  man  he  will  certainly  separate  the  fervent  from  the  lax,  and 
so  will  rc-cstnhlish  ilie  separation. 

III.  It  only  remains  for  us  to  reply  to  the  reasons  alle^jed  in  favour  of 
the  union  :  — 

1.  "  Bonum  ex  Integra  causa."  The  excellence  of  the  end  in  view 
does  not  prove  that  the  proposed  means  are  reasonable. 

2.  The  plea  of  unity  would  equally  avail  for  bringing  the  Conventuals 
into  line  with  the  Observanlines. 

3.  While  the  reformed  convents  have  their  own  vicar  there  is  no 
need  to  have  recourse  to  another  province  {i.e.  any  convent  really 
desirous  of  reform  can  seek  union  with  S.  Marco). 

4.  The  irregulars  are  not  a  true  part  of  the  Order  of  Preachers.  It  is 
better  to  cut  them  off. 

5.  We  are  not  obliged  to  obey  in  all  things. 

6.  The  brethren  of  S.  Marco  could  do  no  good,  and  would  take  much 
harm,  in  and  from  the  proposed  union. 

We  give,  in  conclusion,  the  last  words  of  the  second  and 
principal  portion  of  the  document.     The  brethren  write  : — 

"This  union,  then,  is  impossible,  unreasonable,  useless,  and  ruinously 
mischievous.  Wherefore,  not  only  are  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco  in  no 
wise  bound  to  obey  in  this  matter,  but  they  cannot  obey  without  being 
guilty  of  apostasy  (hoc  enim  esset  apostatare  a  Deo).  And  not  only 
should  the  superiors  of  the  Congregation  fear  no  excommunication,  but 
they  should  rather  expose  themselves  to  the  danger  of  death  (vitam 
potius  exponere  morti)  than  consent  to  such  an  union.  When  conscience 
rebels  against  a  command  received  from  a  prelate,  we  must  first  resist 
and  humbly  correct  him,  which  we  have  already  done  ;  but  if  this  is  not 
enough,  then  we  must  act  like  S.  Paul,  who,  in  the  presence  of  all, 
withstood  Peter  to  his  face." 

The  reader  who  has  had  the  patience  to  peruse  our  analysis  of 
the  Apologeticum  Fratriim  S.  Marci  will  probably  be  ready  to 
admit  that,  while  the  manifesto  embodies  much  shrewd  good 
sense,  it  also  contains  not  a  little  special  pleading.  Of  course,  on 
the  supposition  that  the  union  would  be  carried  out  in  an 
unreasonable  way,  it  was  easy  to  demonstrate  that  the  scheme 
was  itself  unreasonable.  But  in  fact  the  first  steps  actually  taken 
were  precisely  such  as  Savonarola  had  himself  contemplated  at 
the  outset  of  his  own  reform  ;  and  the  plea  that  a  union  between 
S.  Marco  and  the  convents  at  Pisa  and  Siena  would  prove 
disastrous  comes  with  a  bad  grace  from  the  very  house  which  had 
sought  to  bring  those  convents  within  its  own  jurisdiction.^ 

^  •'  He  forgot,"  says  Armstrong,  "  that  the  union  of  S.  Catherine's  at  Pisa 
had  been  effected  against  the  declared  wish  of  the  great  majority  of  the  brethren" 
(C.J/.//,  i.  179). 


220  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

We  do  not  pretend  to  be  ourselves  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  scheme  promoted  by  Caraffa  and  Torriano,  and  embodied  in  the 
Brief  Reforviationi  et  aiigmento.  We  only  urge  that  the  case  for 
S.  Marco,  as  against  not  merely  the  Pope  but  also  the  superiors  of 
the  Order,  was  not  so  evidently  and  plainly  good  as  to  justify 
obstinate  resistance. 

And  as  regards  the  bearing  of  the  Brief  upon  Savonarola 
personally,  instead  of  enlarging — as  Villari  and  others  have  done — 
on  the  sinister  designs  which  are  supposed  to  have  actuated 
Alexander  VI.  in  its  preparation  and  promulgation,  it  would  be  more 
to  the  purpose  to  consider  how  a  truly  zealous  Pope  would  have 
been  likely  to  act  under  the  circumstances ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  what  plan  could  have  been  devised  whereby  Fra  Girolamo — 
unless  he  was  to  be  allowed  to  proceed  unchecked — could  have 
been  more  considerately  treated.  Persuaded,  rightly  or  wrongly,  of 
his  special  mission  to  foretell  the  future,  and  to  scourge  the  vices 
of  Roman  prelates,  he  had  disregarded  alike  admonitions  and 
overtures,  and  had  declared  in  advance  that  any  Papal  censure  upon 
him,  except  on  conditions  defined  by  himself,  would  be  invalid. 
This  was  hardly  a  state  of  things  which  could  be  allowed  to  pass 
unnoticed,  and  it  is  clear  that  even  some  of  Fra  Girolamo's  friends 
thought  that  he  had  gone  too  far.  The  Friar's  excuses  for  not 
going  to  Rome  (though  he  could  visit  Prato  and  Pistoia),  and  his 
objections  to  the  union  of  his  convent  with  the  Congregation  of 
Lombardy,  had  been  tacitly  accepted.  Yet  something  must  be 
done  in  the  interests  of  ecclesiastical  discipline.  What  could  be 
better  than  to  place  the  Friar  under  a  superior  to  be  appointed 
by  his  friend  Caraffa  ?  We  do  not  pretend  to  suppose  that 
Alexander  VI.  reasoned  precisely  after  this  fashion.  But  as  a 
man  may  act  in  a  manner  that  is  objectively  wrong  from  a  good 
motive,  so  also  motives  that  are  very  mixed,  or  even  vicious,  may 
take  effect  in  a  command  that  is  objectively  just.  In  such  a  case 
the  duty  of  obedience,  if  the  command  be  insisted  on,  is  plain. 
On  no  other  principle,  we  are  convinced,  can  a  sound  judgment 
be  passed  upon  the  conduct  of  Fra  Girolamo.  And  we  are 
equally  convinced  that  the  principle  was  as  clearly  recognised  in 
the  fifteenth  century  as  it  has  been  in  post-Tridentine  days. 

That  Savonarola  and  his  brethren  should  have  respectfully  sub- 
mitted to  the  Pope  their  objections  to  the  ordinance  concerning  the 
newly-constituted  Congregation,  as  had  alreadvbeen  done  in  thecase 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  221 

of  the  order  for  reunion  with  the  convents  of  Lomhardy,  is  no 
matter  for  surprise  or  for  condemnation.  But  when  the  Pope,  not- 
withstanding the  reasons  alleged,  persevered  in  his  determination, 
the  only  reasonable  course,  as  it  appears  to  us,  was  to  submit. 

Dr  Schnitzer,  indeed,  is  at  pains  to  show  that,  according  to  the 
accepted  teaching  of  eminent  canonists,  the  Pope  could  not, 
without  adequate  reason,  lawfully  or  validly  command  any  one  to 
exchange  a  stricter  for  a  less  strict  Order  or  observance  ;  and  that 
this  principle  is  no  less  applicable  to  a  community  than  to  an 
individual.^  We  cannot  here  enter  into  a  technical  discussion  on 
a  point  of  Canon  Law,  and  instead  of  examining,  one  by  one,  Dr 
Schnitzer's  authorities,  we  will  rather  appeal  to  what  is  in  some 
respects  a  parallel  instance,  though  indeed  the  argument  is  d 
fortiori  x-A.\.\\&x  than  i).  pari.  No  one,  it  may  be  presumed,  would 
contest  the  validity  of  the  Brief  Dominns  ac  Redemptor^  whereby 
the  Society  of  Jesus  was  suppressed,  and  its  members  secularised, 
by  Clement  XIV.  Here  was  an  instance  in  which  the  members  of 
an  approved  religious  Order  were,  for  the  good  of  the  Church  as  it 
appeared  to  the  Pope,  not  merely  reduced  to  a  less  strict  observance, 
but  entirely  disbanded,  and  deprived  of  the  status  of  *'  religious." 
Dr  Schnitzer  reminds  us  that  the  state  of  discipline  in  the  convents 
of  Tuscany  which  had  not  embraced  the  reform  of  S.  Marco  was 
deplorably  lax  ;  2  but  we  shall  hardly  be  expected  to  believe  that 
men  like  Caraffa  and  Torriano  were  upholders  of  laxity.  The 
erection  of  the  Romano-Tuscan  Congregation  was  part  of  a  general 
scheme  of  reform  which  Caraffa  seriously  took  in  hand,  and 
Alexander  himself  subsequently  explained  that  it  was  not  his  inten- 
tion that  individual  religious  should  be  arbitrarily  transferred  from 
S.  Marco  to  other  convents  of  the  Order.^  When  Villari  urges  that 
the  real  motive  of  the  Brief  of  union  was  to  facilitate  the  removal  of 
Savonarola  from  Florence,  he  appears  to  forget  that  no  attempt  was 
actually  made  to  depose  Fra  Girolamo  from  his  office  of  Prior,  still 
less  to  remove  him  to  another  convent.  It  would  at  least  have  been 
possible  to  send  him  as  far  as  Prato  if  this  had  been  desired.  But 
whether  or  no  the  reasons  for  the  act  of  union  were  in  themselves 
good  and  sufficient,   it  must  be  admitted   that  the  attitude  of 

1  Schnitzer,  H.P.B,  cxxi.  790  sqq.  He  has  returned  to  the  subject  in  his  second 
series  of  articles  (_H.P.B.  cxxv.).     See  iit/ra,  p.  253  note. 

^  Pico  della  Mirandola,  in  his  Apology  for  Savonarola,  speaks  of  them  as 
"dens  of  thieves  "  (Schnitzer,  he.  cit^. 

^  Schnitzer,  H.P.B.  cxxi.  792. 


222  GIROLAIMO  SAVONAROLA 

Savonarola  in  the  Apologctkiun  is  that  of  one  who  no  longer  humbly 
submits  his  objections  to  the  judgment  of  the  Pope,  but  simply 
takes  for  granted  the  justice  of  his  cause.  He  would,  indeed, 
prefer  that  this  were  recognised,  but  he  is  quite  ready  to  defend 
to  the  last  extremity  the  position  which  he  has  taken  up.  And 
with  every  allowance  for  personal  good  faith  we  cannot  pretend 
to  think  that  such  an  attitude  is  defensible  on  its  merits. 

Firm  in  his  conviction  that  he  was  right,  and  that  the  Pope  was 
deceived,  Savonarola  continued  his  preaching  during  the  Advent  of 
1496.  The  first  eight  sermons  on  Ezechiel,  which  belong  to  this 
period,  do  not  seem  to  have  been  so  markedly  characterised  by 
invectives  against  the  abuses  of  the  Roman  court  and  of  the  clergy 
at  large  as  some  of  his  earlier  and  later  discourses.  But  they  show 
abundant  evidence  of  his  anxiety  about  the  political  well-being  of 
the  city.  The  Consiglio  Grande  has  been  opening  its  doors  too 
widely,  and  many  evil-disposed  persons  have  found  a  place  therein. 
The  Signory  must  lop  and  prune  ("bisogna  andarlo  limando  e 
racconciando ") ;  the  Consiglio  must  still  be  kept  open  to  a  large 
number  of  citizens,  but  the  enemies  of  their  country  must  be 
excluded.  Nor  must  those  be  listened  to  who  would  have  the 
appointments  to  the  magistracies  determined  by  lot.^  Measures 
must  be  taken  to  check  the  license  of  those  political  gatherings 
("  conventicoH ")  at  which  men  fare  sumptuously,  and  speak  ill  of 
the  constitution.  The  upshot  of  all  their  talk  is  abuse  of  "the 
Friar  " ;  the  name  of  "  the  Friar  "  is  as  sauce  to  all  their  food,  and 
gives  a  flavour  to  their  wine  ("  quivi  si  mangia  pane  e  Frate,  came 
e  Frate,  vino  e  Frate ").  This  poor  Friar  stands  alone  against  all 
the  world. 

"  Come  now  ;  as  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  say  to  you  ;  Call  doctors,  call 
prelates,  call  whom  you  will,  I  am  ready  to  contend  with  them  all.  The 
Signory  must  act  with  vigour  ;  they  must  take  the  sword  in  hand  ;  if 
need  be  they  must  call  the  people  \o  arms.  Magistrates  who  do  not 
punish  crime  should  be  made  to  pay  the  penalty  of  the  crimes  which 
they  allow  to  pass  with  impunity.  Justice,  then,  O  magnificent  Signory  ; 
justice,  my  Lords  of  the  Eight :  justice,  ye  magistrates  of  Florence  .  .  . 
let  every  one  cry  :  Justice."  ^ 

1  By  voting  against  every  name  proposed,  the  enemies  of  the  Consiglio  had 
endeavoured  to  nullify  or  stultify  the  appointments  to  public  offices.  Many, 
disappointed  at  finding  themselves  never  elected,  urged  a  more  extended  use  of 
the  sortilege.  These  manoeuvres  are  described  in  detail  by  Guicciardini,  Storia 
Fionntina,  pp.  153  sqq. 

2  Sermons  on  Ezechiel,  Villari,  i.  49S-99. 


PROPHET  AND  POI'E  223 

The  official  despatches  bearing  on  the  affairs  of  Savonarola  during 
the  closing  months  of  1496  are  comparatively  few  in  number.  Three 
of  them,  in  which  Somenzi  (7th  and  13th  November)  expresses  his 
hopes  of  winning  over  Fra  Girolamo  to  the  cause  of  the  League,  and 
in  which  Tranchedino  (9th  November)  declares  that  the  Friar  is 
bound  hand  and  foot  to  the  French  alliance,  have  already  been 
mentioned  in  advance  in  the  foregoing  chapter.^  On  i  ith  November, 
the  Duke  of  Ferrara  writes  to  Manfredi,  begging  him  to  warn  Fra 
Girolamo  not  to  allow  himself  to  be  compromised  by  his  communi- 
cations with  a  certain  "friend"  {i.e.  an  emissary  of  Charles  VIII.) 
with  whom,  he  understands,  that  he  has  had  a  long  interview.  Such 
negotiations  are  full  of  pitfalls,  and  it  behoves  him  to  be  wary.^ 

On  13th  November,  Tranchedino  writes  to  Sforza  that  he  has 
heard  from  a  certain  Florentine,  of  the  Medicean  party,  that  the  city 
was  on  the  point  of  going  over  to  the  League,  but  for  the  help 
recently  sent  by  Charles  VIII.  to  Leghorn.  However,  if  the  League 
will  act  with  vigour  (says  his  informant)  the  designs  of  these  Frateschi 
— i.e.  the  popular  party — will  come  to  nothing.  The  letter  is  no 
better  than  a  piece  of  diplomatic  gossip,  but  it  derives  just  a  particle 
of  interest  from  the  events  of  the  next  few  weeks. 

On  17th  November,  the  allies,  and  in  particular  the  Emperor, 
met  with  some  reverses  off  Leghorn,  and  the  Emperor  fled 
ignominiously.3  And  on  the  30th  some  additional  help  given  by 
the  French  king  still  further  raised  the  spirits  of  the  Florentines.^ 
As  the  year  drew  to  its  close  the  Frateschi  were  decidedly  in  the 
ascendant,  and  Francesco  Valori,  the  most  vigorous  though  not 
alwa>s  the  most  prudent  of  Savonarola's  supporters,  was  elected 
Gonfaloniere  for  January  and  February  1497.^ 

Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  Fra  Girolamo's  measures  of 
political  and  social  reform,  Valori  signalised  his  term  of  office  by  a 
marked  disregard  of  certain  of  the  Friar's  warnings.     It  was  precisely 

'  Villari,  i.  Append,  pp.  cxxxix.  sqq.  ;  del  Lungo,  n.  18. 

'^  "  Havemo  veduto  quanto  ne  significati  de  quello  amico  che  e  stato  in  cusi 
lungo  ragionamento  cum  el  ven.  frate  Hieronymo  nostro,  del  che  avemo  facto 
qualche  iuditio  .  .  .  che  I'habii  bona  advertentia  accio  non  sia  circumvenuto," 
etc.  (Cappelli,  n.  105). 

2  "  Lo'  Nperatlore  perdette  la  sua  nave  e  pressoche  la  vita.  Veduto  tale  segno 
e  miracolo  (!),  I'aiuto  di  Dio  a'  Fiorentini,  immediato  s'ando  con  Dio  e  lascio  tale 
impresa"  (Landucci,  I7lh  November).  On  2(st  and  27th  November  he  speaks 
again  of  the  Emperor's  precipitate  flight. 

*  Landucci,  30th  November. 

*  Villari,  i.  499  sqq. 


224  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

at  this  time  that  the  age  for  admission  into  the  Consiglio  Grande 
was  lowered  from  thirty  to  twenty-four,  a  measure  which  gave  a 
considerable  increase  of  power  to  the  young  bloods  of  the  city. 
These  youths,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  were  the  most  pronounced 
enemies  of  the  severe  censorship  of  morals  which  had  been  set 
up  by  Savonarola,  and  which  had  never  been  more  effectively 
exercised  than  it  was  during  the  Carnival  of  1497.^ 

Moreover,  in  the  meanwhile  the  hopes  which  had  been  placed  in 
Charles  VIII.  had  once  more  evaporated;  and  this  circumstance, 
together  with  a  certain  reaction  of  feeling  against  the  stringency  of 
the  new  regulations  for  the  Carnival,  once  more  diminished  some- 
what the  prestige  of  Fra  Girolamo.  The  Gonfaloniere  elected  for 
March  and  April  was  Bernardo  del  Nero,  the  most  highly  respected 
among  the  friends  of  the  Medici  family.  He  had,  indeed,  no 
sympathy  with  the  mad  freaks  of  Piero,^  but  he  was  assuredly  no 
adherent  of  Savonarola.  The  Ten,  however,  did  not  go  out  of 
office  with  the  Signory,  and  it  may  possibly  have  been  the  conscious- 
ness that  the  latter  were  less  favourable  to  the  Friar  than  heretofore 
which  stimulated  them  to  so  considerable  a  degree  of  activity  in 
pleading  his  cause  at  Rome,  as  it  will  appear  from  some  of  the 
following  letters  that  they  now  showed. 

2^th  February  1497  ;  Manfred!  to  d'Este.^ — We  understand  that  the 
new  Gonfaloniere  and  Signory  are  not  favourable  to  the  Friar,  so  that  it 
is  feared  that  his  authority  will  wane.  He  has  been  preaching  against 
the  French  King,  saying  that  he  will  suffer  for  not  having  carried  out  the 
work  entrusted  to  him  by  God.  The  city  is  suflfering  from  great  scarcity, 
and  the  country  people  are  flocking  in,  and  crying  for  bread. 

ibth  February ;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.* — It  is  believed  that  the  Friar  and 
his  faction  will  fare  ill("sark  messo  al  fondo  ")•  He  has  been  preach- 
ing against  the  French  King,  etc.  (as  in  Manfredi's  letter,  supra). 
Whereby  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  Friar  has  been  preaching  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  government  (i.e.  that  of  Valori),  and  not  by  divine 
inspiration,  and  so  it  is  thought  that  he  will  lose  his  reputation,  and  that 
all  will  go  according  to  your  Highness's  wishes. 

1  Villari,  i.  500  sqq.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  first  "bonfire  of 
vanities"  was  held. 

2  Villari,  ii.  13,  14. 

3  Cappelli,  n.  96,  where,  however,  it  is  misdated  5th  February  1496.  We 
have  already  corrected  the  year.  But  it  is  clear  that  the  day  of  the  month  also 
is  wrongly  given.     Compare  the  following  letter  from  Somenzi. 

♦  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xxv. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE 


32$ 


5///  March  ,  Somenzi  to  Sforza.' — Ercole  d'Este  has  visited  Florence 
in  disguise  in  order,  as  is  thought,  to  hear  Fra  Girolamo  preach.* 

Tth  March;  Manfredi  to  d'Este.^ — He  has  consulted  Savonarola  on 
the  subject  of  his  master's  relations  with  France.  Fra  Girolamo  fears 
that  the  King  will  not  again  come  into  Italy.  These  thinj^s  are  in  the 
hands  of  God,  though  human  means  must  also  be  used.  Manfredi, 
apparently  on  the  strength  of  this  conversation,  suggests  that  it  would 
be  well  for  his  Highness  to  send  a  confidential  envoy  ("qualche  persona 
religiosa,  ma  saputa")  to  the  King,  to  stir  him  up.  The  new  Gonfaloniere 
(del  Nero)  seems  to  wish  to  change  the  form  of  government.  The  city 
is  in  a  state  of  greater  disunion  than  ever,  and  disorder  is  feared.*  The 
Friar  is  doing  his  best  to  resist  him  (or  to  preserve  the  peace?  "ad 
obviarlo"),  but  his  adversaries  are  many  and  powerful,  and  are  asserting 
themselves  more  and  more,  and  speaking  with  as  great  license  as  can  be 
imagined  (in  un  parlare  tanto  licentioso  che  non  potria  essere  peggio). 
Nevertheless,  the  Friar  does  not  cease  to  speak  with  courage  (animosa- 
mente)  against  all  evil  livers,  and  against  all  who  seek  to  ruin  the 
Consiglio,  which  he  declares  to  be  the  work  of  God.  He  has  a  great 
hearing. 

Tth  March;  Savonarola  to  d'Este."  (This  is  the  confidential  com- 
munication, containing  that  "secret  of  the  Lord"  which  d'Este's  faith 
has  merited  that  he  should  learn,  and  of  which  something  was  said  in  a 
former  chapter.) — D'Este  will  do  well  to  send  a  trusty  person  to  the  French 
King  in  the  hopes  of  opening  his  eyes  (to  the  duty  of  once  more  invading 
Italy).  But  at  the  same  time,  and  this  the  writer  adds  on  his  own 
account,  it  would  be  well  to  practise  some  finesse  ("usare  cjualche 
astutia  ")  with  the  enemy  in  order  to  avoid  danger.^ 

•]th  March  1497  ;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^— Piero  and  the  Cardinal  de' 
Medici  rejoice  to  hear  that  cries  of  "  Palle  !  Palle  I "  have  been  heard  in 
Florence,  and  they  hope  to  return  within  two  months.  (It  was,  of  course, 
the  election  of  del  Nero  as  Gonfaloniere  which  raised  these  hopes.)  ^  A 
certain  Fra  Santi,  a  Dominican  from  Florence,  is  said  to  have  come 
with  a  message  from  Savonarola  to  Piero  (!).  All  sorts  of  lies  are  in 
circulation. 

About  this  time  an  additional  envoy,  Ser  Alessandro  Bracci.  a 

'  Villari,  ii.  6  (a  fragment  only). 

■■^  But  this  must  surely  be  a  canard.  Only  two  days  later  we  find  Savonarola 
writing  to  d'Este. 

'  Cappelli,  n.  107. 

■•  Many  indications,  however,  scattered  through  his  letter,  suggest  that  Manfredi 
was  of  a  nervous  temperament.  He  had  no  experience  at  home  of  popular  govern- 
ment. 

'•'  Cappelli    n.  108. 

*  See  above,  p.  136. 

'  Gherardi,  p.  146. 

8  Landucci  speaks  of  the  Medicean  cry  as  having  been  raised  (again)  on  21st 
March,  but  adds  :  "  E  no'  ne  fu  nulla  "  ("  it  all  came  to  nothing  "). 


226  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

more  considerable  personage  than  Ricciardo  Becchi,  was  sent  by  the 
Signory  to  Rome  on  a  special  mission  concerning  the  affair  of  Pisa. 
He  was  also  charged  to  urge  the  cause  of  Fra  Girolamo.^  His  letters 
now  alternate  with  those  of  his  junior  colleague. 

i^th  March;  Bracci  to  the  Ten.'^ — Reports  a  long  conversation  with 
the  Pope.  His  Holiness  began  by  lamenting  the  evils  which  had  followed 
from  the  French  invasion,  of  which  evils  Florence  has  had  its  share  in 
the  loss  of  Pisa.  If  only  the  Florentines  will  be  "good  Italians,"  and 
join  the  League,  they  shall  have  Pisa  again.  Bracci  replied  that  they 
had  always  been  good  Italians.  Their  alliance  with  France  was 
defensive,  not  offensive,  etc.  The  Pope  replied  with  rough  humour  that 
the  Signory  had  sent  a  stout  ambassador  with  a  thin  commission 
("  Doinine  Secretari,  voi  siete  grasso  come  noi,  ma,  perdonateci,  voi  sete 
venuto  con  una  magra  commissione").  If  he  had  nothing  better  to  say 
he  might  return  whence  he  came.  "Your  Signory,"  said  the  Pope,  "deals 
only  in  fine  words.  But  we  say  :  '  Si  nolueritis  benedictionem  elonga- 
bitur  a  vobis.'  We  will  not  have  the  French  in  Italy,  and  you  by  your 
obstinacy  are  working  your  own  ruin."  In  vain  Bracci  urged  that  the 
city  was  never  more  united  or  enjoyed  greater  internal  peace.^  The 
Pope  persevered  in  his  condemnation  of  the  French  alliance. 

\^th  March;  Bracci  to  the  Ten.'* — The  Pope  cannot  understand  why 
the  Ten  are  in  such  high  spirits  (onde  alle  S.  V.  si  nascesse  tanta 
ghagliardia),  but  he  believes  it  to  be  due  to  the  confidence  which  they 
place  in  the  prophecies  of  Savonarola,  whom  he  styles  "quello  vostro 
parabolano."  If  his  Holiness  could  personally  address  the  Florentine 
people,  he  has  no  doubt  that  he  would  be  able  to  convince  them  of  their 
error  to  their  own  advantage,  and  to  deliver  them  from  the  blindness  into 
which  the  Friar  has  led  them.  But  his  chief  complaint  is  that  the  Signory 
and  the  people  suffer  him  to  inveigh  against  and  to  threaten  the  present 
occupant — unworthy  though  he  be — of  the  Holy  See.®  Bracci  has 
replied  that,  although  by  reason  of  official  business  he  has  never  heard 
the  Prior  preach,  he  has  also  never  heard  that  he  has  exceeded  the  limits 
of  modesty  and  prudence.  His  doctrine  is  irreproachable,  and  his  life 
and  conduct  are  those  of  an  excellent  religious  man  (religioso  di  somma 
bonta). 

i<^ih  March ;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^ — The  Pope  is  well-disposed,  but  the 
Duke  of  Milan  and  the  Venetians  are  indignant  that  Florence  has  not 

^  Gherardi,  p.  148. 
'^  Gherardi,  p.  149. 

^  Yet  only  a  week  previously  Manfredi  had  written  :  "  The  city  is  more  divided 
than  ever  "  (Cappelli,  n.  107,  supra). 

*  Gherardi,  p.  153. 

"  "  Che  quelli  vostri  Signori  et  cittadini  sopportino  che  da  liii  siamo  lacerati 
et  vilipcsi,  minacciati  et  conculcati,  che  pure  sedianio,  licet  imiii'.iiti,  in  questa 
Santa  Sede." 

*  Gherardi,  p.  IJ4. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  227 

joined  the  League.  They  are  stirring  up  the  Pope  against  the  Republic, 
and  persuade  him  that  the  mission  of  Rracci  is  merely  a  device  to  gain 
time  till  it  becomes  clear  what  the  French  are  going  to  do.  "They  con- 
sider that  this  obstinacy  of  yours  proceeds  entirely  from  the  advice  and 
persuasion  of  the  Friar  ;  and  that  even  if  you  wished  to  t-ake  a  decisive 
step,  and  show  yourselves  good  Italians,  you  would  not  be  able  to  do  so 
without  his  consent."  They  ridicule  you  for  this,  and  the  more  so  because 
they  understand  that  at  this  very  time  his  Paternity  has  once  more 
reasserted  all  that  he  has  said  about  the  King  of  France,  has  threatened 
Italy  and  especially  Rome,  and  has  spoken  of  the  reformation  of  the 
Church,  etc.  And  if  his  Paternity  will  not  consent  to  this  union  with  the 
other  convents  of  Tuscany  on  which,  after  mature  deliberation,  and  with 
the  concurrence  of  other  Cardinals  and  prelates,  Caraffa  has  determined, 
they  will  proceed  against  him  with  censures  and  will  excommunicate  him. 
Nay,  it  is  here  publicly  said  that  he  is  already  excommunicate,  for  not 
having  obeyed  the  late  Brief.  Carafifa  urges  obedience,  alleging  that 
the  union  is  "truly  the  work  of  God,"  and  not  the  outcome  of  calumnies, 
etc. 

22,rd  March;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^— Every  one  thinks  that  you  ought 
to  take  efficacious  measures  for  the  recovery  of  Pisa,  even  at  the  cost  of 
giving  Leghorn  or  Volterra,  or  both,  as  hostages  for  your  fidelity.  But 
here  it  is  said  that  even  if  the  League  were  to  offer  you  Pisa  without 
conditions  they  would  have  to  implore  you  to  accept  it,  because  "  the 
Friar  will  not  allow  you  to  deliberate  "  on  the  matter.  The  city  is  said  to 
be  divided  between  the  Friar  and  the  League.  One  of  the  Cardinals  has 
declared  that,  if  only  you  would  be  united,  all  would  be  well,  and  that 
you  would  soon  be  delivered  from  the  present  scarcity  ;  but  that  every 
one  laughs  at  the  Florentines  for  allowing  themselves  to  be  ruled  by 
a  friar.  Were  it  not  for  the  Friar  you  would,  he  says,  long  since  have 
joined  the  League. 

1st  April;  The  Ten  to  Becchi.^— They  are  grateful  for  the  Cardinal's 
kind  advice,  for  it  is  their  principal  desire  to  be  united.  But  in  fact 
there  is  neither  discord  or  disunion  in  the  city,  since  all  are  determined 
to  preserve  their  liberty  and  the  present  form  of  government.  If  any 
one  has  reported  otherwise  he  is  a  deceiver.  And  if  the  character  of  the 
men  who  carry  such  tales  were  considered,  it  would  be  clear  to  all  how 
vain  are  the  hopes  of  Piero  de'  Medici  (quanto  debole  fondamento  sia 
quelle  di  P.  d.  M.).  His  .".  ionds  are  few  and  desperate,  men  of  no  con- 
dition or  credit.  We  assure  you  that  the  persons  whom  he  seeks  to  win 
over  to  his  cause  are  not  the  kind  of  men  who  will  go  to  sea  without 
victualling  their  ship  ("embarchare  facilmente  sanza  bischotto").  As 
for  the  Friar,  we  are  not  governed  by  him.  He  fulfils  the  office  of  a  good 
and  zealous  preacher  after  a  manner  which  compels  our  gratitude  ;  but 
he  does  not  meddle  in  the  details  of  politics  (sanza  impacciarsi  di  aicuno 
particulare  circa  il  governo  nostro).     Any   statement  to  the  contrary  is 

*  Gherardi,  p.  156.  '■'  Gherardi,  p.  157. 


228  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

false,  and  is  dictated  by  the  passions  of  men,  who  dislike  the  restraints  of 
a  virtuous  life  (da  passione  di  alchuni  a'  quali  dispiace  il  ben  vivere). 

2nd  April ;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.^ — The  recent  elections  are  such  as  to 
give  no  hopes  to  Piero  de'  Medici.  It  is  true  that  some  of  his  friends  are 
in  office,  but  their  influence  is  counteracted  by  that  of  others.  As  for  the 
followers  of  Fra  Girolamo,  who  are  favourable  to  the  French  alliance, 
they  are  now  discredited.  And  because  they  cannot  justify  themselves 
and  their  policy,  they  console  themselves  by  saying  all  they  can  against 
the  Duke  of  Milan.  (The  letter  is  of  no  serious  importance  except  as 
showing  how  Somenzi  could  foment  discord  by  reporting  to  his  master 
the  political  tittle-tattle  of  the  city.) 

The  last  two  letters  were  written  in  the  Easter  week  of  1497,  and 
a  month's  gap  in  the  correspondence  affords  a  suitable  opportunity 
for  taking  account  of  the  Lenten  sermons  (on  Ezechiel)  which  Fra 
Girolamo  had  preached  during  the  two  preceding  months.  Like  all 
his  sermons  they  had  been  full  of  vehement  and  thrilling  denuncia- 
tions of  vice,  and  more  especially  of  vice  in  the  high  and  holy  places 
of  the  Church.  As  heretofore,  so  now,  he  does  not  spare  the  abuses 
of  the  Roman  court.  But  in  the  concluding  words  of  the  passages 
now  to  be  quoted  he  strikes  a  fresh  note  of  warning  which  shows 
clearly  his  presentiment  of  a  crisis  at  hand,  not  for  himself  alone 
but  for  the  Church  at  large.  Those  who  believe  in  his  prophetic 
mission  would  say,  we  presume,  that  if  he  did  not  live  to  cry : 
"  Lazarus,  come  forth,"  and  if  Alexander  VL  did  not  Uve  to  hear  the 
cry,  nevertheless  the  summons  came  in  God's  own  time,  and  in 
God's  own  way,  though  too  late  to  hinder  the  desolating  catastrophe 
of  the  Protestant  Reformation.  These  are  the  preacher's  words,  as 
slightly  abridged  by  Villari  : — 

"  Come  hither,  thou  profligate  Church  (ribalda  Chiesa).  I  gave  thee, 
saith  the  Lord,  beautiful  garments,  and  ye  have  made  idols  of  them.  The 
sacred  vessels  have  served  your  pride,  the  sacraments  have  been  turned 
to  simony  ;  by  your  vices  you  have  become  a  shameless  harlot  ;  you  are 
worse  than  a  brute  beast,  you  are  a  horrible  monster  !  There  was  a  time 
when  you  were  ashamed  of  your  sins,  but  this  is  no  more  so.  There  was 
a  time  when  priests  called  their  sons  nephews  ;  now  they  are  no  longer 
nephews,  but  sons— sons  and  no  mistake  (figliuoli  per  tutto).  ...  O 
harlot  Church,  you  have  made  your  deformity  known  to  all  the  world, 
and  the  stench  of  your  foulness  has  risen  up  to  heaven.  .  .  .  Behold,  I 
will  stretch  forth  my  hands,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  come  upon  thee,  thou 
profligate  and  wicked  one  ;  my  sword  shall  be  upon  thy  children  .  .  . 
upon  thy  harlots  and  upon  thy  palaces,  and  my  justice  shall  be  made 

^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xxvi. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  itg 

known.  Heaven,  earth,  angels,  good  men  and  wicked  shall  accuse  thee, 
and  no  one  shall  stand  up  for  thee  ;  I  will  deliver  thee  into  the  hands 
of  those  that  hate  thee.' "  "  O  ye  priests  and  friars,  you  by  your  bad 
example  have  buried  this  people  in  the  grave  of  ceremonies.  I  tell  you 
that  this  grave  must  be  broken  open,  because  Christ  wishes  to  raise  up 
His  Church  again  in  spirit.  .  .  .  We  must  all  pray  for  this  renewal. 
Write  to  France,  to  Germany,  write  to  every  place  :  This  Friar  says  that 
you  must  all  have  recourse  to  the  Lord,  and  pray  that  the  Lord  may 
vouchsafe  to  come.  Do  you  suppose  that  we  alone  are  good  ?  That 
there  are  no  servants  of  God  in  other  places?  Jesus  Christ  has  many 
servants  ;  there  are  many  such  in  Germany,  in  France,  in  Spain,  who 
now  lie  hidden,  and  mourn  over  this  disease  (of  the  Church).  In  every 
city,  and  town,  and  village,  in  every  religious  Order,  there  are  those  who 
have  a  share  in  this  fire.  These  send  to  ask  me  to  say  a  word  in  their 
ear,  and  I  answer  :  '  Stay  quiet  (state  nascosti)  till  you  shall  hear  the 
summons  (infino  a  che  si  dirk) :  Lazarus,  come  forth.'  As  for  me,  I  stand 
here  because  the  Lord  has  sent  me  to  you,  and  I  wait  till  He  shall  call 
me.  Then  will  I  utter  a  loud  cry  which  shall  be  heard  in  all  Christendom, 
and  shall  make  the  body  of  the  Church  to  tremble,  even  as  the  voice  of 
God  made  that  of  Lazarus  to  tremble."'' 

Nor  is  the  impending  excommunication  absent  from  his 
thoughts. 

"  Many  of  you  tell  me  that  excommunications  are  coming  ;  but  I  tell 
you  that  there  is  need  of  something  else  than  of  excommunications.'  '  But 
are  you  not  afraid  ? '  Not  I,  for  they  wish  to  excommunicate  me  because 
I  do  no  evil.  Bring  this  excommunication  aloft  on  a  spear-head,  and 
open  the  gates  to  it.  I  will  answer  it  ;  and  if  I  do  not  make  you  to 
marvel,  say  afterwards  what  you  please.  I  will  make  many  faces  on 
every  side  grow  pale  ;  and  I  will  send  forth  a  cry  which  will  make  the 
world  quake  and  upheave."  ■* 

Those  who  will  may  defend  the  resistance  offered  by  Fra 
Girolamo  to  Alexander  VI.  The  fact  at  least  is  not  to  be  denied,  in 
view  of  this  very  open  and  explicit  declaration  of  war  a  outrance. 

On  28th  April,  just  before  the  termination  of  Bernardo  del  Nero's 
term  of  office,  Piero  de'  Medici,  whose  hopes,  as  has  been  seen, 
had  been  raised  by  the  appointment,  presented  himself  in  the  early 

'  S.  32  on  Ezcchiel  (Villari,  ii.  4).     A  fuller  text  is  given  in  Viliari  and  Casa- 
nova, pp.  267  sqq. 
^  Villari,  ii.  4,  5. 

*  *'  Ma  io  vi  ripeto  che  si  ccrca  altro  che  scomuniche."  Villari's  English 
translator  renders  these  words  (whicli  are  certainly  obscure) :  "  But  I  again  repeat 
to  you  that  those  in  power  are  thinking  of  something  else  than  c.xcomaiunications" 
(ii.  161). 

*  Villari,  ii.  5. 


2jb  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

morning  with  a  smnll  body  of  troops  at  the  gate  of  S.  Piero  Gattolini 
(now  the  Porta  Romana)  in  the  hopes  of  effecting  an  entry  into 
the  city  as  soon  as  the  gate  should  be  opened.  Warning  had, 
however,  been  given;  the  gate  was  kept  closed,  no  demonstra- 
tion in  his  favour  was  made  within  the  city ;  and  after  waiting  all 
day  outside  the  gate,  exposed  to  the  gibes  of  the  guards,  at  last 
towards  evening  he  took  himself  off  and  retired  to  Siena.  "It 
was  considered,"  says  Landucci,  "a  most  foolish  proceeding  (fu 
tenuto  la  piu  sciocca  cosa)  " ;  but,  as  has  been  related  in  a  former 
chapter,  it  cost  del  Nero  his  life.  He  had  done  his  best  to  dissuade 
Piero,  but  he  would  not  divulge  the  conspiracy  ;  and  it  may  have 
been  due  to  him  that  Piero  was  not  taken  prisoner  as  he  might 
easily  have  been.  Manfredi  writes  to  d'Este,  a  few  days  afterwards, 
that  a  false  report  of  Piero's  success  had  reached  Rome,  that  the 
Cardinal  de'  Medici  went  off  to  tell  the  Pope,  and  was  making 
preparations  to  celebrate  the  occasion  by  a  display  of  fireworks,  but 
that  when  the  news  of  the  fiasco  arrived,  the  Pope  declared  that  it 
served  Piero  right,  since  he  had  managed  this  business  as  badly  as  the 
rest  of  his  affairs.  Yet  the  Pope  subsequently  declared  that  he  had 
known  nothing  about  the  matter  !  It  is  charitable  to  suppose  that  he 
meant  only  to  deny  all  previous  cognisance  of  the  details  of  the  plot. 
As  for  Savonarola,  when  Filippo  Arigucci,  one  of  the  Signory,  sent 
Girolamo  Benivieni  to  ask  him  whether  he  had  heard  the  news  of 
Piero's  expedition,  he  reproached  them  both  with  their  little  faith, 
and  plainly  told  them  (as  Benivieni  himself  used  to  relate)  that 
Piero  would  come  as  far  as  the  city  gate  and  would  return  without 
having  effected  anything.^ 

The  ignominious  failure  of  Piero's  attempt  no  doubt  contributed 
to  the  election  of  a  Signory  for  May  and  June  which  contained  at 
least  several  members  of  the  Arrabbiati,  a  faction  far  more  openly 
hostile  to  Savonarola  than  the  Palleschi ;  and  the  results  of  the 
election  soon  made  themselves  felt  in  his  regard.  A  consultation 
was  held  on  3rd  May  in  which  it  was  determined  that,  in  view  of 
the  plague  Which  was  raging,  it  would  be  desirable  to  inhibit  all 
preaching  in  the  churches  of  the  city.^  The  following  day  was  the 
festival  of  the  Ascension,  and  immediately  after  the  sermons  which 
were  to  be  preached  on  that  day  the  benches  which  had  been  placed 
for  the  convenience  of  the  audience  were  to  be  cleared  away  ("adeo 
quod  per  totam  diem  quintam  prsesentis  mensis  Maii  disgonbrentur 

*  Nardi,  i.  105.  "  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xxxv. 


PROPHET  AND  POPE  231 

(sic)  ad  effectum  ut  super  eis  dicte  predicationes  audiri  non  possint"). 
It  is  curious  to  find  that  bets  had  been  already  freely  laid  as  to 
whether  sermons  would  be  allowed  even  on  that  day,  and  among 
the  resolutions  passed  at  the  Pratica  was  one  which  annulled  all 
such  bets.^ 

But  the  Compagnacci,  a  graceless  gang  of  violent  and  licentious 
swashbucklers,  whose  movements  were  directed  by  the  notorious 
Doffo  Spini,  not  content  with  this  measure,  forced  an  entrance  into 
the  Duomo  on  the  night  of  3rd  May,  befouled  the  pulpit  with  ordure, 
and  on  the  following  day  raised  such  a  tumult  in  the  church  that 
Fra  Girolamo's  sermon  was  of  necessity  brought  to  a  premature 
close.2  The  disgraceful  scene,  in  which  two  members  of  the  new 
Board  of  Eight  are  said  to  have  taken  part,  is  related  by  several 
contemporary  writers,  and  Landucci,  in  particular,  feelingly  laments 
the  state  of  spiritual  starvation  to  which  the  people  were  now 
reduced,  and  which  they  had  to  bear  in  addition  to  the  scourge  of 
the  prevalent  scarcity  and  sickness.^ 

*  '*  Quia  ad  eorum  aures  pervenit  quod  .  .  .  facte  fuerunt  mulcte,  ut  dicitur, 
'scommesse'  .  .  .  utrum  prcedicabitur  eras  in  dicta  civitate  nee  ne  .  .  .  deelara- 
verunt  .  .  .  dietas  ut  vulgo  dicitur  '  scommesse  "...  non  valuisse  et  non  valere 
modo  aliquo  "  (Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xxxvii.).  Villari  (ii.  18)  makes  the  bets 
turn  on  what  Savonarola  in  particular  would  do.  The  terms  of  the  resolution 
seem  to  imply  that  the  point  in  question  was  whether  preaching  on  the  4th  would 
be  allowed  or  prohibited.  Landucci  (Dian'o,  5th  May  and  nth  June)  notes  that 
while  sermons  was  prohibited,  taverns  of  evil  repute  were  thrown  open,  and 
certain  sports  (which  could  hardly  fail  to  draw  a  greater  crowd  than  any  sermon) 
were  revived. 

*  "  Nel  mese  di  maggio  .  .  .  successe  nel  magistrate  (essendo  gonfalonierc  di 
giustizia  Piero  degli  Alberti)  una  certa  qualita  d'  uomini  molto  contrari  al  Frate, 
e  alia  mente  di  quelli  era  in  tutto  conforme  il  magistrate  degli  otto  "  (Nardi,  i. 
107).  Guicciardini  states  (pp.  150-51)  that  Savonarola's  enemies  were  in  a  majority 
of  one  on  the  Board.     He  still  had  four  supporters  in  the  new  Signory. 

'L;m  !ucci,  27th  May  and  1st  June.  A  word  must  here  be  said  in  connection 
with  a  point  of  chronology.  In  the  first  edition  of  this  work  the  Afio/oge/irum 
(summarised  above,  pp.  2l6  S(^y.')  was  said  to  have  been  published  "presumably 
in  April  1497."  F"ather  O'Neil,  however  (_l\'as  Savonarola  ExcommumcaUd f 
pp.  87  sqq.)  has,  we  think,  satisfactorily  shown  that  its  appearance  must  have  been 
subsequent  to  the  issue  of  the  Brief  of  Excommuni  ation.  The  Apology  is, 
indeed,  in  fact  though  not  in  form,  an  answer  to  the  Brief,  and  as  such  Nardi 
(i.  102)  treats  it  in  a  passage  the  significance  of  which  we  had  overlooked. 
Father  O'Neil's  rectification  of  this  date  is  as  welcome  as  it  is  important.  At  the 
same  time,  we  cannot  draw  from  it  the  conclusion  which  he  has  drawn,  viz.,  that 
previously  to  the  excommunication  Savonarola  had  in  no  way  disobeyed  or 
contravened  the  Brief  Reformationi  et  aupnento.  Savonarola  himself  put  forth 
no  such  plea  as  this.  On  the  contrary,  he  plainly  declares  that  the  command 
was  one  which  in  conscience  he  could  not  obey.  The  subject  has  been  discussed 
more  fully  in  The  Tablet  of  2nd  June  1900, 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    EXCOMMUNICATION 

IT  was  little  more  than  a  week  after  the  outrage  which  has  been 
related  at  the  close  of  the  last  chapter  that  the  Brief  Cum  scepe 
a  quamphirimis,  whereby  Fra  Girolamo  was  declared  excom- 
municate, was  issued  by  Alexander  VI.  And,  indeed  the  conjunction 
of  events  does  at  first  sight  seem  to  lay  the  Pontiff  open  to  the  charge 
of  having  waited  till  the  Friar  was  down,  before  striking  this  final 
blow.  Yet,  on  further  consideration,  it  seems  more  than  doubtful 
whether  such  a  view  of  the  matter  can  be  substantiated.  Since  the 
close  of  Lent,  and  in  particular  since  the  failure  of  Piero's  abortive 
attempt  on  the  city,  more  than  one  of  Savonarola's  enemies — and 
among  them  Fra  Mariano  da  Gennazzano  and  one  Gianvittorio  da 
Camerino — had  betaken  themselves  to  Rome,  and  had  used  their 
utmost  efforts  to  stir  up  the  Pope  to  take  strong  measures  against  him. 
On  I  St  May,  before  the  news  of  the  election  of  the  new  Signorycan 
have  reached  Rome,  Bracci  reports  to  the  Ten  that  the  Pope  has 
expressed  his  wish  that  the  authorities  would  prevail  upon  Savonarola 
to  cease  from  speaking  ill  of  him.  Bracci  replied  that  the  Friar  had 
never  attacked  his  Holiness  individually,  and  that  the  reports  to 
the  contrary  must  have  originated  with  that  malicious  tale-bearer, 
Camerino.^  On  6th  May  the  Ten  inform  Bracci  that  all  preaching 
has  been  stopped  for  the  present.  Savonarola,  they  admit,  may 
have  "  incidentally  "  exceeded  the  bounds  of  moderation,  but  on  the 
whole  he  exercises  the  functions  of  a  preacher  "  modestamente." 
Nevertheless,  when  he  recommences,  he  shall  be  admonished.^  It 
is  perhaps  not  a  matter  for  surprise  that  assurances  of  this  kind  did 
not  satisfy  the  Pope,  and  did  not  avail  to  ward  off  the  sentence. 
Issued  on  13th  May,  the  Brief  was  not  published  at  Florence  till 
more  than  a  month  later,  a  delay  which  was  caused  by  the  choice 
of  Camerino  to  be  its  bearer.  The  envoy  came  on  his  way  as  far  as 
Siena.  Further  he  dared  not  venture,  for  fear,  as  he  said,  lest  he 
»  Gheiardi,  p.  158.  *  Ibid.,  p.  159. 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  233 

should  be  torn  in  pieces  by  the  adherents  of  the  Friar.^  He  had 
indeed  good  reason  to  be  afraid,  not  peihaps  of  any  overt  act  of 
popular  vengeance,  but  of  legal  pains  and  penalties.  For  only  a 
few  months  previously  he  had  been  expelled  the  city,  and  the  Eight, 
though  they  were  even  more  hostile  to  Fra  Girolamo  than  the  new 
Signory,  might  have  found  it  difficult  to  pass  over  any  infraction  of 
the  decree  of  banishment.  The  Arrabbiati  appear  to  have  dreaded 
the  consequences  of  the  appearance  of  so  unpopular  a  man  in  the 
city  at  this  juncture,  and  Parenti  declares  that  they  sent  him  a 
message  warning  him  not  to  come.^  Accordingly  he  remained  at 
Siena  till  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  Signory,  though  fully  informed 
by  their  ambassadors  in  Rome,  and  by  Camerino  himself,  of  the 
existence  of  the  Brief,  had  no  official  cognisance  of  its  contents. 
Enough,  however,  was  known  to  give  occasion  for  a  determined 
attempt,  in  a  Pratica  held  on  20th  May,  to  procure  a  decree  of 
banishment  against  the  Friar  ;  ^  an  attempt,  however,  which  proved 
abortive  for  lack  of  a  two-thirds  majority.  It  is  strange  that  even 
under  a  Signory  thus  disposed,  the  Ten,  who  had  entered  upon  their 
term  of  office  in  January,  and  were  still  in  power,  continued  to 
write  in  his  favour  to  their  ambassadors  in  Rome.  It  was  some- 
what as  though  the  Foreign  Office  were  to  carry  on  a  correspondence 
independently  of,  and  to  some  extent  in  opposition  to,  His 
Majesty's  government.  And  yet  the  opposition  was  perhaps 
more  apparent  than  real.  For,  as  afterwards  appeared,  many 
of  those  who  were  ready  enough  to  condemn  Savonarola  on 
their  own  account  were  by  no  means  desirous  that  the  Pope 
should  interfere  (as  they  regarded  the  matter)  in  the  affairs  of  the 
city.  It  is  also  a  characteristic  sign  of  the  times  that  precisely  at 
this  juncture  a  sort  of  hybrid  Committee  of  Public  Safety  had 
been  appointed,  embracing  men  of  all  parties,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  internal  peace  of  the  city.* 

'  NaiJi,  i.  102. 

2  "  Riputando  li  adversnrii  del  Frate  che  tale  mandatario  incorrere  potrebbe 
nella  pena,  e  dare  shirbo  al  procedersi  contro  al  Frate,  per  la  via  I'advcrtirono  non 
venissi,"  etc  (Parenti  aptid  Gherardi,  p.  162).  C:;meiino's  oflence  (committed 
under  a  government  friendly  to  Savonarola)  seems  to  have  been  that  of  having 
brought  malicious  accusations  against  the  Friar  (Gherardi.  p.  161  ;  Parenti,  ibid. 
See  also  his  own  letter,  infra,  pp.  258-9). 

'  Lettere  a  Filippo  Sirozzi  (V'illari,  ii.  25). 

*  Their  names  are  given  I'y  Guicciardini  {Storia  Fiorenlina.  p.  151)-  Among 
them  were  such  conspicuous  party  chiefs  as  Bernardo  del  Neio,  Guidantonio 
Vespucci,  and  Francesco  ValorL 


234  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Becchi's  next  letter  is  characteristic  of  the  man.  He  is  a  diligent 
retailer  of  gossip,  and  not  a  little  credulous.  We  may  well  hesitate  to 
believe,  on  no  better  authority  than  his,  the  truth  of  the  charges 
which  he  makes  against  the  two  Cardinals,  Caraffa  and  Lopez. 

ic)/h  May;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^ — Concerning  the  Brief  \^Cum  scepe] 
Ser  Alessandro  will  have  informed  you,  and  also  concerning  the  promise 
made  to  us  by  "  Napoli "  {i.e.  Caraffa,  Archbishop  of  Naples),  and  of  his 
audience  with  the  Pope.  But  I  must  not  omit  to  inform  you  who  it  is 
that  has  obtained  the  Brief.  For  the  Pope,  though  indignant  with  the 
Friar,  and  determined  to  punish  him,  nevertheless  would  not  have  pro- 
ceeded to  extremities  had  he  not  been  instigated  thereto.  "And 
although  many  excuse  themselves,  professing  not  to  have  known  any 
thing  about  it,  I  hereby  make  known  to  your  Lordships  that  Monsignore 
reverendissimo  di  Napoli  is  its  real  author,  along  with  many  other 
Cardinals.  And  Perugia,  too  {i.e  Lopez),  although  he  swears  that  he 
knew  nothing  about  the  Brief  till  after  the  departure  of  Messer  G.  da 
Camerino — yet  I  know  for  certain  that  his  most  Reverend  Lordship 
is  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  affair  (ha  solecitato  tutto)."  And  all  this 
is  being  done  to  satisfy  the  Cardinal  de'  Medici  and  the  friends  of 
Piero. 

■20th  May;  The  Ten  to  Bracci.^ — They  have  received  his  letters, 
informing  them  of  his  negotiations  with  the  Pope  and  Caraffa  on  behalf 
of  Savonarola.  They  are  no  less  indignant  than  surprised  to  hear  of 
the  steps  that  are  being  taken  against  him  ;  for  all  proceeds  from  mis- 
representations. Any  one  who  will  examine  the  manner  of  Fra  Girolamo's 
preaching,  will  see  that  he  has  never  blamed  or  reprehended  any 
individual  in  particular,  but  has  inveighed  against  vice  in  general, 
which  is  the  office  of  a  preacher.  He  has  never  made  express  mention 
in  his  sermons  either  of  the  Pope  or  of  any  Cardinal,  or  indeed  of  any 
other  person.  For  the  rest,  his  preaching  has  produced  the  most 
abundant  fruits,  by  reason  of  his  learning  and  of  his  most  religious  life  ; 
so  much  so  that  it  may  be  said  with  truth  that  the  city  is  extremely 
indebted  to  his  Paternity  for  having  brought  it  to  a  good  rule  and 
pattern  of  life.  Bracci  must  implore  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinal  of 
Naples  to  proceed  in  this  matter  with  the  gravity  and  deliberation  which 
befits  them. 

In  the  meanwhile  Fra  Girolamo,  fully  apprised  of  the  machina- 
tions of  his  enemies,  and  probably  having  more  than  an  inkling  of 
the  despatch  of  the  Brief,  wrote  a  letter  ^  to  the  Pope  of  which  we 
give  the  substance,  and  in  part  the  words  : — 

"  For  what   reason  [he  asks],  is  my  Lord  angry  with   his  servant  ? 

*  Gherardi,  p.  163. 

'^  Gherardi,  ibid.     Bracci'.s  letters,  here  referred  to,  are  lost. 
=*  The  letter  is  given  by  Quetif,  ii.  125  S(jq. 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  235 

Have  I  done  wrong,  because  my  enemies  accuse  me?  Why  does  not 
my  Lord  interrogate  his  servant,  and  listen  to  his  reply  before  believing 
the  charges  against  him  ?  ,  .  .  For  your  Holiness  holds  the  place  of  God 
on  earth."  His  enemies  accuse  him,  says  the  writer,  of  having  ceaselessly 
carped  at  the  Pope  with  injurious  words.  He  wonders  that  Alexander 
does  not  see  through  their  malice.  Thousands  of  witnesses,  and  his 
own  printed  words,  bear  testimony  in  his  favour.  How  can  that  high 
and  mighty  preacher  (concionator  iste  egregius  et  sublimatus,  i.e.  Fra 
Mariano)  have  the  face  to  charge  him  with  a  fault  of  which— as  many 
can  testify — he  is  himself  guilty.  Fra  Girolamo  remembers  well  how 
he  once  had  occasion  to  reprove  him  for  the  insolent  words  which  he 
had  dared  to  utter  from  the  pulpit  against  his  Holiness.  "As  for  me, 
I  have  always  submitted  to  correction,  and  as  often  as  there  shall  be 
need  I  will  again  and  again  submit."  His  practice  is  continually  to 
invite  all  men  to  penance,  and  he  intends  as  soon  as  possible  to  issue 
his  work,  De  Triumpho  Cntds,  from  which  the  soundness  of  his  doctrines 
will  appear.     If  all  other  help  fails,  he  will  confide  in  God.' 

It  appears  from  the  subsequent  correspondence  of  the  Florentine 
envoys  in  Rome  with  the  Ten,  that  Alexander  was  touched  by  this 
letter,  and  if  we  may  believe  Bracci,  that  he  even  repented  of  having 
issued  the  Brief.-  However  this  may  be,  the  document  had  left  the 
Pope's  hands,  and  at  last  on  Sunday,  i8th  June,  it  was  solemnly 
published  in  Florence.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  its 
contents : — 

We  have  [says  the  Pope]  on  various  occasions  been  informed  by  very 
many  persons  worthy  of  credit,  both  ecclesiastics  and  laymen,  that  a 
certain  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  of  Ferrara,  of  the  Order  of  Preachers, 
Vicar— as  is  reported  (ut  auditur)— of  S.  Marco  at  Florence,  has  dis- 
seminated certain  pernicious  teachings  (quoddam  pernitiosum  dogma)  to 
the  scandal  and  ruin  of  simple  souls  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
This  we  have  heard  not  without  displeasure  :  but  because  we  hoped  that 
he  would  recognise  his  error,  and  would  soon  retrace  his  steps  (sese 
retrahere  a  periculosa  via),  and  that  with  true  simplicity  of  heart, 
humility,  and  obedience  he  would  return  to  Christ,  and  to  the  Holy 
Church,  we  addressed  to  him  a  Brief,  wherein  we  commanded  him, 
in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  to  come  to  us  that  he  might  purge  himself  of 
the  errors  charged  against  him,  and  in  the  meanwhile  to  desist  from 
preaching.     He,  however,  would  by  no  means  obey.     We,  for  our  part, 

•  The  limits  of  our  space  do  not  permit  of  our  giving  anything  in  the  nature 
of  a  summaiy  of  the  treatise,  De  Triumpho  Crucis.  It  is  remarkable  as  anticipating 
those  apologetic  treatises  which  now  find  a  place  in  the  curriculum  of  our  theological 
schools.  An  English  translation,  by  Father  J,  Proctor,  O.P.,  was  published  by 
Sands  &  Co.  in  1901. 

'^  These  letters  will  be  summarised  later. 


236  GIROLAMO  SAVONAHOLA 

dealt  with  him  perchance  more  mildly  than  the  case  required,  and 
bore  with  (toleravimus)  certain  excuses  which  he  alleged,  and  even 
tolerated  (substinuimus,  sic)  his  disobedience  in  continuing  to  preach 
notwithstanding  our  prohibition,  in  the  hope  that  our  clemency  would 
cause  him  to  return  to  the  way  of  obedience.  But  as  our  hopes  were 
disappointed,  in  a  Brief  dated  yth  November  [1496],  we  commanded 
him,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  and  under  pain  of  excommunication 
to  be  incurred  ipso  facto,  to  unite  his  convent  with  a  certain  new 
congregation  styled  '  of  the  Roman  and  Tuscan  province,'  recently  erected 
by  us.  This  ordinance  he  failed  to  carry  out,  nor  would  he  in  any  wise 
obey  our  letters,  disregarding  the  ecclesiastical  censures  which  he 
thereby  incurred,  and  under  which  he  now  lies  (insordescit).  Wherefore, 
that  we  may  not  be  wanting  in  our  pastoral  duty,  we  command  you 
publicly  to  declare  him  excommunicate.^  Moreover,  all  persons  of 
whatsoever  condition  are  to  be  warned  that  they  are  to  avoid  the  said 
Fra  Hieronymo  as  a  person  excommunicated  and  suspected  of  heresy, 
and  this  under  the  like  pain  of  excommunication.^ 

Landucci,  who  was  present,  describes  the  publication  of  the 
sentence  in  the  Augustinian  church  of  Santo  Spirito,  and  tells  us 
that  it  was  also  promulgated  in  several  other  churches  of  the  city. 
Savonarola  lost  no  time  in  issuing  his  counterblast.  We  deliberately 
call  it  by  this  name,  because  it  was  not  a  letter  respectfully  addressed 
to  the  Pope,  setting  forth  his  reasons  for  having  disobeyed  his 
commands,  and  the  grounds  on  which  the  sentence  appeared  to  him 
unjust  and  invalid,  but  a  manifesto  addressed  "to  all  Christians" 
("a  tutti  li  Christian!  et  diletti  di  Dio").^ 

The  writer  of  this  private  encycUcal  describes  himself  as 

"The  servant  of  Christ  Jesus,  sent  by  Him  to  the  city  of  Florence 
to  announce  the  great  scourge  which  is  to  come  upon  Italy,  and 
especially  upon  Rome,  and  which  is  to  extend  itself  over  all  the  world, 
in  our  days  and  quickly  ;  to  the  end  that  His  elect  may  find  themselves 
prepared  in  the  midst  of  so  great  tribulations,  and  may  thus  escape  the 
anger  of  God,  who  wishes  in  this  way  to  remove  evils  and  to  renovate 
His  Church  and  the  whole  universe." 

And  he  thus  continues  : — 

*'  May  God  then  be  thanked  for  His  great  goodness,  in  that  He  has 
chosen  us  to  be  the  ministers  of  this  truth,  on  which  account  we  willingly 

'  "  Ut  in  vestris  Eccle?iis,  diebus  feslivis,  dum  populi  aderit  multitudo, 
declaretis  et  pronuntietis  dictum  fratrem  Hieronymum  excommunicatum  .  .  . 
eo  quod  nostris  .  .  .  monitis  et  mandatis  non  paruerit." 

2  Vil'ari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  xxxix  ,  xl. ;  del  Lungo,  p.  17. 

^  Quetif,  ii.  185  sqq.  Similarly,  Arm?,trong  says:  "His  Apology  of  the 
Brethren  of  S.  Marro  was  a  formal  appeal  from  the  Pope  to  the  public"  {C.M.H. 
i-  79)- 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  137 

suffer  many  tribulations,  God  willing  that  by  this  means  the  report  of 
our  prophecies  (la  fama  di  questa  Prophetia)  may  be  spread  through 
every  part  of  Christendom,  yea,  over  all  the  world  ;  that  all  may  be 
disposed  to  receive  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whereby  the  intended 
renovation  may  be  brought  about.  As  for  the  wicked,  who  seek  to 
suppress  this  prophecy,  they  in  fact  co-operate  in  its  fulfilment.  Thus 
it  was  that  Joseph's  brethren,  by  selling  him  to  the  Midianites,  thought 
to  make  sure  that  he  would  never  be  lord  over  them,  and  yet  this  very 
act  brought  about  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy.  Herod,  thinking  by 
the  slaughter  of  the  children  to  bring  to  naught  the  prophecies  which 
foretold  the  coming  of  Christ,  in  fhct  helped  to  fulfil  them.  So,  too, 
the  Jews,  who  put  our  Lord  to  death,  and  those  who  persecuted  and  slew 
the  apostles  and  martyrs,  fulfilled  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testament.  And  even  so  at  this  present  time  the  prophecies  which  we 
have  uttered  are  being  brought  to  their  issue  ;  and  among  them  you  see 
that  one  in  particular,  which  concerned  the  excommunication,  is  now 
being  brought  to  pass  ;  for  I  repeatedly  spoke  of  it  to  you  many  years 
since,  when  no  one  thought  of  such  a  thing.  Wherefore  from  this  and 
many  others,  which  with  your  own  eyes  you  see  to  have  been  already 
fulfilled,  you  may  firmly  believe  that  all  those  which  have  not  yet  come 
to  pass  will  come  to  pass  in  the  future,  and  that  God  will  deliver  us  from 
every  danger,  and  will  give  us  a  great  victory. 

"  Remember  how  I  told  you  that,  in  return  for  the  benefits  of  which  I 
was  the  instrument,  I  expected  nothing  but  tribulation,  and  that  only  one 
thing  was  wanting  to  the  full  measure  of  the  malice  of  our  enemies  in 
Rome  and  elsewhere,  namely,  that  they  should  persecute  the  servants  of 
God.  But  whereas  the  '  tepidi '  do  not  desist  from  their  efforts,  I  would 
not  have  you,  on  this  account,  to  falter  and  to  abandon  the  way  of  truth. 
Remember  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Apostles  and  Saints  of  past 
times ;  remember  what  I  have  told  you  of  S.  John  Chrysostom,  S. 
Athanasius,  S.  Jerome,  S.  Hilary,  and  many  others  who  have  suffered 
greater  things  than  we. 

"  Do  not  believe  then,  dearly  beloved,  that  those  excommunications 
have  any  validity  which  are  based  upon  misrepresentations  (lequale 
sono  fatte  per  false  suggestioni  di  huomini),  and  which  are  put  forth  with 
an  evil  intent,  in  opposition  to  God  and  the  truth.  Unable  to  find  a  just 
cause  for  procuring  my  excommunication,  my  enemies  have  suggested 
false  reasons  to  the  Pope,  saying  that  I  disseminate  pernicious  doctrines 
and  heresies,  whereas  I  have  preached  only  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 

"And  whereas  they  accuse  me  of  disobedience,  be  assured  that  I  was 
never  disobedient  to  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  nor  to  the  Pope,  nor  to  any 
superior  of  mine  down  to  the  present  hour  ;  and  this  I  say,  not  in  self- 
praise,  but  for  the  sake  of  truth  ;  and  I  am  willing  that  this  writing  shall 
stand  against  me  at  the  tribunal  of  Christ.  It  is  true  that  some  people 
think  that  when  a  man  declines  to  obey  in  those  things  which  are 
expressly  contrary  to  God,  this  is  disobedience  ;  but  in  fact  it  is  monstrous 
(una  cosa  grossa)  to  suppose  that  we  are  bound  to  obey  our  superiors 


238  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

in  everything.  For  we  ought  to  obey  our  Superior  in  so  far  as  he  holds 
the  place  of  (iod  ;  but  he  does  not  hold  the  place  of  God,  and  is  not  our 
superior,  when  he  commands  what  is  contrary  to  God.  Accordingly,  it 
has  happened  that  in  such  a  case  as  this  I  have  not  obeyed,  knowing 
that  neither  God  nor  the  Church  wishes  me  to  obey  in  things  that  are 
contrary  to  their  commands." 

From  the  discussion  of  the  general  question  as  to  the  circum- 
stances under  which  a  subject  is  or  is  not  bound  to  obey  his  superior, 
Fra  Girolamo  proceeds  to  consider  the  specific  objection  that  he  has 
disobeyed  in  the  matter  of  the  new  Congregation.     He  writes  : — 

"  I  have  often  answered  that  those  who  persuaded  the  Pope  to  take  this 
course  did  so  not  out  of  zeal  for  religion,  but  solely  in  order  to  persecute  me, 
and  in  this  way  to  find  an  occasion  of  proceeding  against  me  ;  for  they 
foresaw  that  I  would  never  consent  to  a  union  which  they  knew  well  to 
be  mischievous.  But  I  have  set  forth  twelve  reasons,  to  which  they 
cannot  reply,  why  this  union  is  contrary  to  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
good  of  souls.  I  answered,  among  other  things,  that  they  demanded  of 
me  a  thing  which  was  not  in  my  power,  for  it  required  the  consent  of  my 
brethren,  who  were  all  opposed  to  it  as  to  a  thing  most  pernicious. 
Moreover,  it  seemed  well  to  assemble  the  fathers  of  the  young  men  who 
had  committed  themselves  to  our  guidance,  and  to  declare  to  them  the 
conditions  of  the  proposed  union,  to  the  end  that  they  and  the  city  might 
never  be  able  to  reproach  us  with  having  deceived  their  sons,  whom  we 
certainly  should  have  deceived  (ingannati)  had  we  consented  to  this 
union  ;  for  they  would  have  relaxed  their  observance,  and  would  have 
become  like  those  '  tepidi,'  concerning  whom  we  have  proved  that  they 
are  the  worst  men  in  the  world  (li  peggiori  huomini  del  mondo).  Rather 
than  this,  it  had  been  better  that  they  should  have  stayed  with  their 
families.  I  answered,  moreover,  that  being  an  alien  by  birth,  if  these 
fathers  and  brothers  of  ours  should  consent  to  the  union,  I  could  not 
oppose  them  ;  but  that  if  they  did  not  consent,  I  could  not  force  them. 
And  so  I  left  the  matter  in  their  hands.  Now  they  have  declared  in 
writing  that  they  will  not  consent,  but  will  rather  suffer  excommunication 
and  imprisonment,  and  even  martyrdom  (martyrii).  If,  then,  this  is  so, 
why  do  they  impute  this  disobedience  to  me?  Is  it  not  that  these 
adversaries  of  mine  seek  only  one  man,  whom  they  hate  because  he  tells 
the  truth  (el  quale  hanno  in  odio  per  la  veritk)  ?  You  see,  then,  dearly 
beloved,  how  great  is  the  daring  of  our  enemies,  who  are  not  ashamed 
to  suggest  manifest  lies  to  the  Pope.  Therefore,  such  excommunications 
are  not  valid,  nor  are  they  in  accordance  with  the  intentions  of  the 
Church.  And  if  they  quote  that  maxim  of  the  Canon  Law,  'sententia 
pastoris  timenda  est  sive  justa  sive  injusta,'  you  have  my  answer  to  this 
in  a  sermon  which  I  delivered  more  than  a  year  ago." 

The  writer  ends  by  begging  their  prayers  that  God  would  deign 
"to  set  His  hand  to  something  more  forcible  than  reason."     For 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  a30 

men  have  now  reached  such  a  pitch  of  malice  that  they  shamelessly 
resist  reason  and  the  truth,  and  think  only  of  living  at  their  ease 
(allegramente). 

"  Wherefore,  if  these  our  arguments  are  not  listened  to,  and  if  they  seek 
to  take  further  steps  against  us,  we  will  make  this  truth  known  to  all  the 
world  after  such  a  fashion  that  no  one  will  be  able  to  gainsay  it.  For  God, 
at  such  time  as  He  sees  good,  to  the  confusion  of  Christians  who  will  not 
use  their  reason,  will  cause  irrational  creatures  to  render  homage  to  the 
truth  against  which  His  rational  creatures  contend.  Pray  God  that  this 
may  be  soon." 

With  this  somewhat  obscure,  yet  unmistakable  appeal  to  a 
forthcoming  miracle,  the  letter  concludes.  We  have  all  but  translated 
the  whole  document  from  beginning  to  end,  that  the  reader  may  be 
in  full  possession  of  Fra  Girolamo's  defence.  However,  before 
discussing  in  detail  the  merits  of  the  case,  we  will  give  his 
second  letter  in  reply  to  the  sentence  of  excommunication. 
In  the  meanwhile,  we  call  our  readers'  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Savonarola  is  consistent  throughout.  His  attitude  to  the  Brief  Cum 
scepe  a  quamplurimh  is  in  full  accordance  with  the  position  which 
he  had  taken  up  from  the  outset  of  his  career  in  Florence. 

A  few  days  after  his  first  protest  against  the  sentence  of  excom- 
munication— a  protest  addressed  as  has  been  seen  to  the  faithful  at 
large— Savonarola  wrote  a  second  letter,  in  answer  to  enquiries 
addressed  to  him  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  more  fully  sets  forth 
his  position.  It  is  of  special  interest  as  dealing  with  the  subject  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  Canon  Law.^ 

"  You  ask  me  [he  writes]  whether  such  an  excommunication  as  that 
which  we  have  recently  shown  to  be  unjust  ought,  at  least,  to  be  observed 
in  public.  To  this  question  Petrus  de  Palude  and  S.  Antoninus  have 
given  a  clear  reply.  An  unjust  excommunication  is  to  be  respected 
(timenda)  they  say,  not  on  account  of  the  penalty,  which  from  the  nature 
of  the  case  is  null,  but  for  conscience'  sake,  by  reason  of  the  danger  of 
scandal.  But,  here  again  much  depends  on  circumstances.  When  the 
nullity  of  a  sentence  is  known  to  the  learned  (sapientibus)  but  not  to  the 
common  people,  a  man  may  disregard  it  in  private,  but  he  must  respect 
and  observe  it  in  public  until  there  is  reasonable  ground  to  hold  that  the 
danger  of  scandal  has  ceased.  For  instance,  if  one  has  been  publicly 
excommunicated  and  publicly  denounced,  he  should  publicly  declare  the 
grounds  on  which  the  sentence  is  invalid  ;  and  when  this  has  been  done, 
there   is   no   longer   any    danger   of    scandal   to   the   weak   {^scandalum 


'  Qu6tif,  ii.  190  sqq. 


i40  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

pusiUorwn\  and  there  is  room  only  for  pharisaic  scandal  {scandaliim 
FhariscEorian),  which  may  be  safely  despised. 

"  So  far  Paludanus.  But  long  before  him  Pelagius  had  declared  that 
an  unjust  sentence  may  be  disregarded,  since  in  the  eyes  of  God  and  the 
Church  an  unjust  sentence  cannot  bind  any  man,  and  a  man  thus 
sentenced  stands  in  no  need  of  absolution.^ 

"  Wherefor-e,  since  it  has  already  been  made  clear  to  all  the  people 
that  this  excommunication  was  extorted  by  means  of  misrepresentations 
importunately  urged,  to  the  end  that  men  might  have  greater  liberty  to 
sin,  and  since  in  a  letter  recently  published  I  have  set  forth  the  truth  of 
the  matter,  and  have  thereby  removed  the  danger  of  public  scandal  (in 
populum  scandalum  sedando),  and  shown  good  cause  for  regarding  the 
sentence  as  unjust,  I  am  not  bound  to  obey  it  even  in  public,  nor  can  any 
one  be  scandalised  hereat,  unless  he  wishes  to  declare  himselt  a  Pharisee." 

The  writer  next  quotes  at  great  length  from  Gerson's  tract, 
De  excommunicatione  et  irregtilaritate. 

"  '  The  guilt  of  disobedience,'  says  Gerson,  '  is  incurred  where  a  man 
refuses  to  obey  lawful  authority  lawfully  exercised  ;  and  the  latter 
qualification  is  necessary,  because  otherwise  prelates  might  use  their 
power  to  reduce  men  to  slavery.  Hence  the  maxim,  sententia  .  .  .  etiam 
injusta  titnenda  est,  needs  explanation,  for  to  give  an  unqualified  sub- 
mission to  an  unjust  sentence  would  be  to  show  the  patience  of  an  ass, 
and  the  foolish  timidity  of  a  hare  (esset  asinina  patientia  et  timor 
leporinus  et  fatuus).'  After  asserting  the  lawfulness  of  an  appeal  from 
the  Pope  to  a  General  Council,  Gerson  goes  on  to  say  that,  '  in  many 
cases  the  Pope  may  be  disobeyed  without  fault,  namely,  when  he 
scandalously  and  beyond  all  measure  (enormissime  et  scandalosissime) 
abuses  his  power'  to  an  evil  end.  Moreover,  one  who  has  the  support 
of  a  single  canonist  or  theologian  in  favour  of  his  conviction  that  a 
particular  sentence  is  unjust,  may  safely  disregard  that  sentence,  pro- 
vided only  that  due  precautions  are  taken  not  to  scandalise  those  weak 
souls  '  who  think  that  the  Pope  is  a  God  (qui  existimant  Papam  esse 
unum  Deum)  who  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  The  foolish- 
ness of  such  persons  is  to  be  driven  out  of  them  by  suitable  instructions.' 

"  Behold  [adds  Savonarola]  how  entirely  to  our  purpose  are  the  words 
of  Gerson.  To  suppose,  therefore,  that  all  censures  are  to  be  obeyed, 
proceeds  from  ignorance,  which,  in  priests  and  religious,  is  unbecoming 
and  mischievous.  Yet  there  are  some  who  are  so  blind  and  hasty  in 
their  judgments  as  to  affirm  that  all  who  come  to  our  convent,  or  who 
speak  with  us,  are  ipso  facto  excommunicate,  whereas  this  is,  at  least,  very 
doubtful.     Nay,  some  even  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  those  who  converse 

*  Deer.  II,  q.  3,  cxlvi.  The  Pope,  however,  who  is  named  in  the  text  of 
the  Decrettim  is  Gelasius,  not  Pelagius.  Whoever  may  be  the  real  author  of  the 
decree,  it  is  obvious  that  he  must  here  be  understood  to  speak  of  a  sentence 
which  is  plainly  and  nptoriously  unjust. 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  441 

with  the  frequenters  of  our  convent  are  themselves  excommunicate.  Such 
persons  laliour  under  crass  ignorance,  to  use  no  harder  words  (ut 
graviora  taceam)." 

The  letter  ends  with  an  exhortation  to  pray  for  the  Church,  that 
God  may  once  more  enlighten  her  as  of  old. 

From  this  manifesto  it  is  clear  that  Savonarola  believed,  or  had  at 
least  persuaded  himself,  not  only  that  the  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion was  in  itself  invalid,  but  also  that  after  his  first  public  protest  he 
was  under  no  obligation  of  respecting  it  even  in  public. 

It  is  worth  while  to  note  explicitly  on  what  grounds  this 
persuasion  was  based.  And  in  the  first  place  it  was  not  based  on 
the  merely  declaratory  character  of  the  Brief,  as  though  for  this 
reason  alone  it  had  been  inoperative.  This  is  a  line  of  defence 
which  has  been  taken  up  quite  recently  by  some  of  Fra  Girolamo's 
apologists.  The  Pope,  it  is  affirmed,  did  not  excommunicate 
him,  but  simply  declared  him  to  be  excommunicate.^  Savonarola, 
however,  urges  no  such  plea  as  this.  He  treats  the  sentence  as 
formally  effective,  and  as  inoperative  on  material  grounds  alone.^ 

And  as  regards  these  material  grounds  he  argues  from  what  he 
holds  to  be  a  sound  principle  of  Canon  Law,  as  expounded  very 
clearly  and  emphatically  by  Gerson,  and  less  clearly,  but  in  his 
opinion  not  less  unmistakably,  by  the  other  authorities  to  whom  he 
refers. 

Is  it  then  to  be  admitted,  or  can  it  be  maintained,  that 
Savonarola's  action  was  in  itself  defensible  ?  We  think  not,  and  for 
several  reasons.  In  the  first  place  in  order  to  form  a  reasonable 
judgment  on  the  subject  it  is  most  important  to  distinguish  clearly 
between  three  distinct  questions.  The  first  is  as  to  the  duty  of 
obedience  in  the  matter  of  the  new  Congregation.  The  second 
concerns  the  validity  of  the  sentence  of  excommunication,  which 
was  the  penalty  imposed  for  refusing  to  obey.     And  the  third  is  as 

'  This  is  the  main  argument  of  a  pamphlet  entitled  Fii  veramente  escotntnun- 
icato  Savonarola  ?  by  Father  L.  G.  Lottini,  O.  P.  (Milan,  1898). 

^  This  point  has  been  very  clearly  put  by  a  writer  in  the  Civilth  Cattolica  of 
6th  August  1899.  After  quoting  abundant  evidence  from  the  sermons  of  Fra 
Girolamo  and  other  contemporary  documents,  the  writer  concludes  :  "Se  dunque 
non  si  vuol  far  violenza  alia  storia  ed  al  senso  ovvio  che  hanno  le  espressioni  di 
chi  parla  o  scrive,  convien  dire  che  fra  Girolamo  e  tutti  i  suoi  amici  e  nemici 
presero  il  Breve  nel  senso  inflitlivo,  cioe  di  una  vera  e  propria  scomunica  de 
prcesenti,  e  non  gia  nel  senso  dichiarativo  di  censure  incorse  precedentemente " 
(p.  310). 


242  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

to  the  duty  of  observing  the  excommunication  at  least  in  public,  even 
supposing  that  it  was  in  itself  null. 

First,  then,  as  regards  the  refusal  to  obey  the  precept  of  union. 
Dr  Schnitzer  quotes  a  number  of  passages  from  the  writings  of 
various  eminent  canonists,  Innocent  IV.,  Nicholas  de  Tudeschis 
(Panormitanus),  Felino  Sandeo,  and  Sylvester  Mazzolini  (Prierias), 
as  to  the  obedience  due,  or  not  due,  under  various  circum- 
stances, to  an  unjust  command.^  Lest  we  should  even  appear 
to  deserve  the  reproach  of  understating  the  case  for  the  defence, 
we  give  these  passages  as  nearly  as  possible  in  their  entirety. 

Innocent  IV.  writes  : — 

**  But  how  if  the  Pope  should  impose  an  unjust  precept,  seeing  that  he 
has  no  superior  with  whom  the  subject  can  treat?  It  may  be  said  that, 
if  he  command  anything  touching  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  persons,  he 
is  to  be  obeyed  even  if  the  command  be  unjust,  because  it  is  not  lawful 
for  any  one  to  judge  of  his  actions  .  .  .  unless  tlie  command  should  in- 
volve some  heresy,  for  then  to  obey  would  be  sinful  ;  or  unless  there  should 
be  a  strong  presumption  (nisi  vehementer  praesumeretur)  that,  from  the 
execution  of  the  command,  there  would  ensue  a  disturbance  of  the  peace 
of  the  Church,  or  other  evil  consequences,  for  then  he  would  sin  by 
obeying,  since  it  is  his  duty  to  provide  against  future  evils,  not  to  foment 
them."  2 

Panormitanus  says : — 

"  If  the  prince  should  impose  any  precept  from  the  execution  of 
which  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  scandal  will  arise  in  the  State,  the 
subject  ought  not  to  obey.  And  in  like  manner,  it  is  to  be  said  that,  if 
the  prince  orders  anything  which  is  contrary  to  [the  law  of]  God,  he  is 
not  to  be  obeyed,  and  this  even  if  the  prince  believes  that  he  is  acting 
justly,  and  the  judge  alone  is  aware  that  the  precept  is  sinful."  ^ 

The  concluding  words  of  the  above  paragraph  {"  e.X.judici  notum 
sit,  etc.")  show  that  the  case  contemplated  is  that  of  an  official, 
exercising  subordinate  authority,  who  is  commanded  to  do  some- 
thing in  the  exercise  of  his  office  which  he  sees  to  be  sinful.  The 
principle,  however,  is  perfectly  general,  and  under  all  circumstances 
the  law  holds  good  that  conscience  is  supreme  over  individual 
conduct.      Thus    Panormitanus    writes    elsewhere :      "  Against   the 

^  Schnitzer,  H.P.B.  xxi.  787  sqq. 

2  Innoc.  IV.  in  cap.  44,  Ivquisitioni ;  5  Decr.^  tit.  39  (n.  3).  It  must  be 
understood  that  there  is  no  question  here  of  injustice  to  a  third  person.  The 
injustice  supposed  is  towards  the  subject  to  whom  the  command  is  addressed. 

^  Panorm.  in  cap.  5,  Si  quando ;  I  Deer.,  tit.  3  (n.  2). 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  243 

law  of  conscience,  the  superior,  even  if  he  be  the  Pope  himself,  is 
not  to  be  obeyed,"  ^  and  again,  even  more  explicitly  : — 

"Sometimes  the  superior  prescribes  what  is  evidently  just,  and  then 
he  is  to  be  obeyed,  unless  the  subject  conscientiously  believes  that  the 
command  is  unjust,  and  cannot  rid  himself  of  this  belief;  for  in  that  case 
he  must  follow  his  conscience,  however  erroneous  this  may  be  ;"^ 

that  is  to  say,  provided  that  the  error  itself  is  not  there  and  then 
culpable  or  "vincible." 

The  Florentine  Sandeo,  and  the  Dominican  Prierias,  both  con- 
temporaries of  Savonarola,  lay  down  substantially  the  same  principles 
with  regard  to  the  duty  of  obedience  to  a  Papal  command.  "  The 
Pope  is  to  be  obeyed,"  says  Sandeo,  "even  if  the  command  be  un- 
just," unless  there  be  fear  of  scandal,  or  of  an  evil  issue,  or  of  injury 
to  the  Church. 3  We  may  observe  that  the  phrase  "unless  there  be 
fear  (nisi  dubitaretur) "  seems  to  leave  the  door  dangerously  wide 
open.  If  every  subject  who  "doubts  "  concerning  the  evil  results  of 
carrying  out  a  precept  laid  upon  him  were  justified  in  withholding 
obedience,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  what  the  state  of  ecclesiastical 
discipline  would  speedily  become.  Prierias  expresses  himself  with 
greater  caution  : — 

"  The  question  is  asked  [he  says]  whether  the  Pope  is  to  be  obeyed 
in  all  things.  Panormitanus  says  .  .  .  No.  In  the  first  place  [he  is  not 
to  be  obeyed]  when  he  commands  what  is  sinful,  and  this  even  though  the 
sin  be  but  venial  ...  or  again,  even  though  the  Pope  should  believe  the 
command  to  be  just,  while  the  subject  is  convinced  (et  tamen  subdito 
constat)  that  it  involves  sin.  Nor,  secondly  [is  he  to  be  obeyed],  if  there 
is  a  presumption  that  the  peace  of  the  Church  will  be  greatly  disturbed, 
or  that  some  other  evil  or  scandal  will  result  from  obedience  to  the  pre- 
cept, and  this  even  though  the  precept  be  imposed  under  pain  of  excoin- 
nitcnication  to  be  ipso  facto  incurred  (lata^  sentential),  as  the  same 
Panormitanus  teaches."'* 

But  it  by  no  means  certainly  follows  that  because  on  the  principles 
laid  down  by  these  writers  a  man  may  in  certain  cases  lawfully 
decline  to  obey  the  Pope,  or  may  even  be  bound  in  conscience  so  to 
do,  and  this  even  though  he  should  be  commanded  under  pain  of 

'  In  cap.  44,  htquisitioni ;  5  Deer.,  tit.  39  (n.  3). 
2  In  cap.  5,  Ad aures ;  i  Deer.,  tit.  11  (n.  2). 

*  "Nisi  prxceplo  suo  dubitaretur  de  scandalo,  vel  malo  eventu,  vel  de  statu 
ecclesiee  "  (Sandeus  in  cap.  Inqiiisiiioni,  ut  supra). 

*  Prierias,  Summa  Siimmarutn^  s.v.  Obedientia. 


S44  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

excommunication,  the  ecclesiastical  censure  is  therefore  invalid. 
This  is  a  point  on  which  there  has  apparently  been  some  difference 
of  opinion  among  canonists  and  theologians.  Thus,  Panormitanus 
declares  that  if  a  subject  be  excommunicated  by  a  subordinate  pre- 
late for  declining  to  obey  an  unjust  precept,  he  must  have  re- 
course to  a  higher  authority  ;  which  at  least  seems  to  imply  that  he 
regards  the  penal  sentence,  even  for  an  act  of  disobedience  which 
is  not  in  itself  blameworthy,  as  per  se  juridically  valid.^  S. 
Antoninus  expresses  his  opinion  on  the  subject  with  much  greater 
clearness : — 

"  Although  [he  writes]  one  who  inflicts  an  unjust  sentence  of  excom- 
munication sins  grievously,  and  is  liable  to  punishment  in  various  ways, 
nevertheless,  in  law,  such  a  sentence  holds  and  binds  the  subject  so  far  as 
concerns  the  Church  Militant  {i.e.  inforo  externo\  unless  it  has  been  in- 
flicted by  a  judge  who  had  no  canonical  jurisdiction  over  him,  or  should 
be  null  from  some  other  cause."  ^ 

S.  Antoninus,  then,  plainly  declares  that  a  sentence  of  ex- 
communication may  be  objectively  unjust  without  being  canonically 
invalid.^  And  common  sense  would  seem  to  suggest  that  this  must 
be  so.  Let  the  case  be  stated  in  general  terms.  A  superior,  whether 
entirely  in  good  faith,  or  partly  under  the  influence  of  passion  or  of 
misapprehension,  imposes  a  command  which  the  subject  deems  to 
be  seriously  mischievous.  If  the  subject  is  sincerely  convinced  that 
such  is  its  character,  he  cannot  in  conscience  obey.  But  it  does  not 
follow  that  the  superior  must  necessarily  view  the  matter  in  the  same 
light,  or  that  he  acts  sinfully  in  insisting  upon  the  execution  of  the 
command,  or  in  imposing  a  penalty  for  its  non-fulfilment.  And  if  he 
does  so  it  would  seem  that  the  sentence  whereby  the  penalty  is  in- 
flicted must  be  regarded  as  canonically  valid.  The  conditions  of 
nullity  are  clearly  laid  down  by  S.  Antoninus,  and  among  them  the 
only  one  which  could  possibly  be  construed  as  bearing  upon  the 
case  of  Savonarola  is  that  which  is  expressed  in  the  sentence,  "  An 
excommunication    is    null  .  .  .  when    it    contains    an    intolerable 

^  "  Et  si  me  excommunicat  (in  casu)  debeo  accedere  ad  superiorem  (ut  petam) 
relaxalionem  .  .   .  injusti  prcecepti"  (In  cap.  Inquisitioni,  ut  supra). 

2  Sitmnia,  parte  iii. ,  tit.  24,  c.  23. 

^  So,  too,  S.  Tiiomas  Aquinas,  or  his  continuator.  Speaking  of  an  unjust 
sentence  of  excommunication  he  writes  :  "Si  sit  talis  error  ex  parte  sententice  qui 
sententiam  nullam  esse  facial,  non  hahet  effectum,  quia  non  est  excommunicatio  ; 
si  autem  talis  error  non  annullet  sententiam  habet  effectum  suum "  {Summa, 
Suppl.  q.  xxi.,  a.  4). 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  245 

error."  ^  Whether  the  excommunication  of  Fra  Girolamo  could 
plausibly  be  said  to  contain,  or  involve,  an  "  intolerable  error,"  is  a 
question  that  will  come  up  for  consideration  in  due  course.  But  in 
the  meanwhile  we  must  take  account  of  what  might  seem  to  be  a 
more  lenient  view  of  the  whole  matter  of  unjust  censures,  which  is 
now  commonly,  if  not  universally,  held.  For  whereas  S.  Thomas 
and  S.  Antoninus,  with  others  of  the  okkr  canonists,  when  treating 
of  censures  which  are  objectively  unjust,  distinguish  between  those 
which  are  valid  and  those  which  are  null,  it  is  now  maintained  that 
in  all  cases  in  which  no  moral  fault  has  been  committed  by  the 
delinquent,  the  censure  is  of  its  own  nature  intrinsically  invalid. '•^ 
The  apparent  contradiction  arises,  however,  rather  from  a  difference 
in  the  point  of  view  from  which  the  subject  is  regarded,  and  in  the 
terminology  employed,  than  from  any  real  divergence  of  judgment. 
When  the  older  writers  distinguish  between  a  censure  which,  though 
objectively  unjust,  is  yet  juridically  valid,  they  have  in  view  \}cvq  forum 
externum;  and  when  the  more  recent  writers  maintain  that  in  the 
absence  of  moral  guilt  the  censure  is  always  invalid,  they  are  speaking 

*  S.  Antoninus,  ibid.  Ballerini  sums  up  the  grounds  of  nullity  in  the  words: 
"Invalida  vero  [est  censura]  quse  aut  fertur  a  non  habente  potestatem,  vel  contra 
alicujus  privilegium  vel  post  legitimam  appellationem,  vel  quando  continet 
errorem  intolerabilem. "  The  plea  of  "privilege"  cannot  be  urged  against  the 
Pope,  for  all  ecclesiastical  privileges  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term  are  revocable 
by  him. 

^  "  Denique  excusatur  a  culpa  [  ?  a  censura]  qui  vere  innocens  est :  cum  enim 
censura  nemini  imponi  possit  absque  culpa,  qui  ab  hac  liber  est  erit  etiam  a  censura 
liber"  (Schmalzgruebery?<^  Canonicum,  lib.  v.,  tit.  39,  n.  80).  After  giving  two 
other  cases,  which  do  not  here  concern  us,  the  writer  proceeds  :  "  Potest  contingere 
ut  culpa  quidem  non  adsit,  probetur  tamen  adesse"(?.^.  the  alleged  delinquent 
is  morally  innocent,  either  because  he  has  not  done  the  action  charged  against 
him,  or  because  in  doing  it  he  followed  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience) ;  and 
in  this  case  :  '*  Dicendum  probabilius  in  hoc  casu  innocentem  censura  non  ligari." 
A  long  series  of  approved  authors,  from  Cajetan  to  Castropalao,  are  cited  as 
holding  this  opinion,  as  against  certain  older  canonists ;  and  then  the  grounds  of 
the  more  lenient  opinion  are  stated.  "  Ratio  est  quia  prreceptum  illud  judicis 
nititur  falsa  praesumptione  obligationis  et  errore  aperto  :  igitur  cum  alienum  sit  a 
benignitate  ecclesire  cogere  et  obligare  sub  censura  ad  solvendum  tanquam  debitum 
quod  nuUo  modo  est  debitum,  non  est  credendum  ullam  sic  condemnato  obliga- 
tionem  induci  ex  hoc  prnecepto  "  {ibid.  n.  82),  He  goes  on  to  insist  that  whatevc  r 
obligation  of  outward  observance  may  arise  in  such  a  case  has  its  ground,  not  in 
the  censure,  which  (^.v  hypothesi)  is  null,  but  in  the  natural  law  which  prescribes 
the  avoidance  of  scandal  {ibid.  n.  83).  Ballerini  {Opus  Morale,  vii.  43)  adopts 
the  language  of  Schmalzgrueber,  and  declares  that  his  opinion  is  now  commonly 
accepted. 


246  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

of  the  fonim  intcymivi}  So  far  as  there  is,  or  may  be,  a  real  diver- 
gence of  opinion,  it  would  touch  only  on  the  lawfulness  of  neglecting 
to  observe,  in  private,  the  prohibitions  involved  in  the  censure. 

But  whatever  the  theoretical  difference  of  opinion  may  or  may 
not  be  as  to  the  possible  validity  or  invaUdity  of  a  sentence  of  ex- 
communication which  is  objectively  unjust,  all  are  agreed  that  such  a 
sentence  must  be  "  respected,"  in  other  words,  that  the  prohibitions 
which  it  implies  must  be  observed  in  public,  unless  the  juridical 
invalidity  of  the  sentence  has  been  first  made  publicly  known. ^ 
Now  the  invalidity  of  a  sentence  cannot  be  made  publicly  known  if 
it  depends  simply  on  the  dictates  of  the  individual  conscience,  of 
which,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  faithful  at  large  can  take  no 
cognisance.  Hence  both  those  who  assert,  or  appear  to  assert,  that 
a  censure  may  be  valid,  even  though  it  be  objectively  unjust,  and 
those  who  declare  that  a  censure  can  not  be  valid  when  the  alleged 
delinquent  has  been  guilty  of  no  moral  fault,  agree  in  saying  that  the 
obligation  of  external  observance  in  public  holds  good  unless  the 
sentence  can  be  publicly  shown  to  be  null,  either  in  consequence 
of  some  legal  flaw,  or  because  it  contains  "  an  intolerable  error."  ^ 

*  That  the  two  opinions  are  not  really  at  variance  (except  possibly  as  regards 
private  observance)  appears  from  Ballerini  {Opus  Morale,  torn,  vii.),  who  in  one 
place  distinguishes  between  an  unjust  sentence  of  excommunication  which  is  valid 
and  one  which  is  invalid  (p.  i66),  while  elsewhere  he  teaches  that  in  the  absence 
of  moral  fault  a  censure  is  necessarily  invahd  (p.  43).  That  the  reconciliation  of 
these  apparently  conflicting  statements  lies  in  the  distinction  between  the  forum 
externum  and  the  forum  tKlernum  appears  c\ea.r]y  from  Reiffenstuel  (In  5  Deer., 
tit.  39,  n.  41).  "  Quamvis  ille,  qui  vel  absque  ulla  vere  subsistente  causa, 
consequenter  penitus  innocens,  vel  saltem  absque  sufficienti  legitima  causa, 
censuratur,  v.  g.  excommunicatur,  reipsa  coram  Deo,  et  in  foro  conscientiae 
censuram  .  .  .  non  incurrat,  nee  effectibus  illius  subjaceat  .  .  .  nihilominus  si 
secundum  allegata  et  probata  in  judicio  censetur  nocens  .  .  .  debet  censura  in 
foro  externo  et  in  facie  ecclesise  tarn  a  censurato  quam  ab  aliis  servari,  donee  vel 
ab  ea  praesumptus  reus  fuerit  absolulus,  vel  innocentia  ipsius  atque  error  censurae 
publice  innotuerit." 

2  "Ratio  est,"  says  Reiffenstuel,  "  tum  quia  in  foro  externo  adest  saltem 
causa  praesumpta  ;  tum  quia  hoc  necesse  est  ad  publicam  utilitatem  et  disciplinam, 
et  .  .  .  ad  bonum  publicum  tuendum,  cui  bono  bonum  privatum  merito  postponi 
debet.  Et  certe  si  etiam  in  foro  externo  censura  servari  in  tali  casu  non  deberet, 
malevolis  lata  aperiretur  porta,  quaslibet  censuras  contemnendi ;  cum  dicere 
possent,  se  coram  Deo  esse  innocentes,"  etc.  {loc.  cit.,  n.  42).  If  the  alleged 
acquittal  of  one's  own  conscience  were  a  sufficient  bar  against  all  ecclesiastical 
censures  even  in  foro  externo,  ^t  forum  extertium  might  as  well  suspend  business 
altogether. 

^  The  older  school  would  say :  You  must  obey  because  the  censure  is  valid 
(meaning,   in  foro  externo).     The  more  modern   school   would  say  :  You   must 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  247 

But  what  is  it,  the  reader  may  not  unreaso:iably  ask,  that  con- 
stitutes, in  the  technical  sense,  "an  intolerable  error"?  If  a  private 
individual  or  subordinate  official  is  ordered  under  pain  of  excom- 
munication to  do  something  which  his  ecclesiastical  superior  declares 
to  be  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  but  which  he  deems  mischievous, 
it  is  obvious  that  there  arises  a  conflict  of  opinion  between  the 
superior  and  the  subject  as  to  the  reasonableness  of  the  command; 
and  it  is  equally  obvious  that  the  presumption  is  in  favour  of  the 
superior.  Nor  can  any  degree  of  earnestness  or  eloquence  on  the 
part  of  the  subject  avail  to  show  that  in  the  canonical  sense  of  the 
term  the  superior  is  "  intolerably "  mistaken,  unless,  in  the  words 
of  Innocent  IV.,  he  can  make  it  clear  that  what  is  commanded  is  of 
such  a  character  as  to  be  "commonly  or  of  its  own  nature  (ex  genere 
suo)  sinful,"  or  again,  that  it  is  physically  or  morally  impossible.^  In 
other  words,  he  must  be  able  to  bring  the  case  clearly  and  unmistak- 
ably under  some  general  principle  universally  or  at  least  commonly 
accepted.  Unless  he  can  do  this  the  question  remains  a  matter  of 
opinion ;  the  superior  is  to  be  presumed  to  command  what  is 
reasonable,  and  while  it  is  recognised  that  he  may  be  mistaken,  it 
must  also  be  recognised  that  his  error  is  not  of  that  kind  which  can 
rightly  be  described  as  "  intolerable." 

We  have  set  forth  at  some  length  the  principles  laid  down  by 
distinguished  canonists  both  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  of  more 
modern  times  with  reference  to  (i)  the  duty  of  a  subject  when 
commanded  to  do  something  which  is  either  plainly  and  palpably 
wrong,  or  is  opposed  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  individual  conscience  ; 
(2)  the  validity  or  nullity  of  an  ecclesiastical  censure  imposed  in 
such  a  case  as  the  penalty  of  disobedience;  and  (3)  the  duty  of 
externally  observing  the  prohibitions  involved  in  the  censure,  so  long 
as  its  nullity  (if  indeed  it  be  null)  cannot  be,  or  has  not  been,  made 
publicly  known.  We  have  now  to  apply  these  principles  to  the 
case  and  the  conduct  of  Fra  Girolamo.     And  in  doing  so  we  shall 

obey,  because,  though  the  censure  is  really  null  (meaning,  in  foro  inUrno),  you  must 
behave  as  if  it  were  valid  ;  and  this  on  general  grounds  of  public  utility,  and  of 
the  duty  of  observing  law  and  order  and  of  avoiding  scandil  (Schmilzgrueber,  loc. 
cit.).  Since  our  first  edition  appeared,  the  conditions  of  validity  have  been  well  and 
succinctly  stated  by  Father  O'Neil,  Was  Savonarola  Excommunicaifd f  pp.  1 18  sqq. 
^  "  Utpote  si  asseritur  in  excommunicationis  sententia  intolerabilcm  errorem 
fuisse  patenter  expressum,  id  est  aliquid  sub  vi  praecepii  vel  mandati  aperte  in 
ea  contineri  quod  cominuniter  vel  in  suo  genere  est  peccatum,  velut  si  dicat  forte 
aliquis  se  .  .  .  excommunicatum  .  .  .  quia  non  operabatur  id  quod  suo  actu 
illicitum  est  et  pravum"  (Cap.  7,  Venerahilibus  ;  6  Deer.,  tit,  xi.,  §  5). 


248  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

avail  ourselves  not  only  of  the  letters  written  by  Savonarola  in 
response  to  the  Brief  Cum  s(Bpe,  but  also  of  the  Apologeticuni  Fratrum 
S.  Marci,  which  has  been  summarised  in  a  former  chapter,  and  of 
the  Apology  for  Fra  Girolamo  addressed  to  Ercole  d'Este  (much  to 
the  distress  of  that  prince)  by  Gianfrancesco  Pico  della  Mirandola 
in  the  winter  of  1497-98. ^ 

The  precept  whereby  Savonarola  was  commanded  to  merge  the 
Convent  of  S.  Marco  and  the  houses  attached  to  it  in  the  newly- 
erected  Congregation  of  his  Order  was  obviously  one  which  per  se 
fell  entirely  within  the  competence  of  the  Pope's  authority.      The 
Congregation  of  S.  Marco,  as  has  been  said,  owed  its  canonical 
erection  to  a  papal  Brief;    and  a  papal  Brief  could  annul   what  a 
papal  Brief  had  enacted.     Moreover,  there  was  more  than  one  prima 
facie    reason    for    the   new   arrangement.      The    multiplication    of 
subordinate  jurisdictions  within  the  Order  might,  as  has  been  said, 
reasonably  be  deemed   undesirable ;   and  the  arguments  which  had 
militated   in    favour   of  the   separation   of  S.    Marco   a  few  years 
previously  might  seem   to  be  overborne    by  the  advantages  to    be 
gained  by  merging  S.  Marco  and  its  dependencies  in  a  more  general 
scheme  of  reform.     These  are  not  merely  imaginary  considerations, 
but  are  the  points  alleged  as  the  ostensible  motives  of  the  scheme 
of    reform    in    the    Apologeticum  Fratrum   S.    Marci.       We    have 
already    seen    that    the    writer    of    the    Apologeticum    is    at    great 
pains  to  show   that   these   reasons    are    fallacious.       But   whatever 
may  be  thought  of  the  value  of  his  arguments,   with   their   calm 
assumption  of  superiority  on  the  part  of  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco,  it 
can  hardly  be  said  that  the  Apologetic^im  raises  the  question  above 
the  level  of  a  matter  of  opinion,  or  that  it  convincingly  shows  the 
project  of  union  to  be  intrinsically  wrong  ("ex  suo  genere  malum") 
or  contrary  to  any  divine  or  natural  law.     And  it  is  of  interest  to 
note  that  in   Savonarola's  own  days  a  project  very  similar  to  that 
which  was  now  in  hand  on   behalf  of  the  Dominican  convents  of 
Rome  and  Tuscany  had  actually  been  carried  out  in  a  considerable 
number  of  the  Benedictine   monasteries  of  Italy.      The  reformed 
congregation  of  Santa  Giustina  at  Padua  had  not  only  sent  out  a 
number  of   offshoots,  viz.  to  Bassano,  Verona,  Genoa,   Pavia,  and 
Milan,  but  had  also  effected,   by  means  of  monks  sent  out  for  that 
purpose,  the   reform  of  many  other  houses  of  the  Order,  viz.  at  or 

*  These  two  documents  are  given  in  Quetif,  ii.  74  sqq.  and  3  sqq. 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  249 

near  Rome,  Naples,  Perugia,  Piacenza,  Bologna,  Modena«  Mantua, 
Milan,  and  Venice.^ 

Moreover,  apart  from  the  balance  of  intrinsic  reasons  for  and 
against  the  scheme,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  authority  which 
Savonarola  declined  to  obey  was  not  merely  that  of  Alexander  VI., 
who  might  perhaps  have  been  reasonably  suspected  of  acting  from 
sinister  motives,  but  also  that  of  the  General  of  the  Order,  Torriano, 
and  of  the  newly  appointed  vicar,  Cardinal  Caraffa,  neither  of  whom 
could  fairly  be  charged  either  with  malicious  designs  against  Fra 
Girolamo  and  his  brethren,  or  with  ignorance  of  the  circumstances. 

Whether,  then,  the  project  was  well  or  ill  conceived,  it  was  not 
one  on  which  the  faithful  at  large  could  reasonably  be  invited  to 
form  a  judgment ;  and  the  appeal  to  a  popular  verdict,  which 
Savonarola,  as  has  been  seen,  allowed  himself  to  make,  was  an  act 
of  insubordination  which  it  seems  to  us  impossible  to  justify.  The 
circumstances  of  the  case  were  no  doubt  full  of  difficulty.  Assuming 
that  Savonarola  was  convinced  that  the  mandate  could  not  be 
obeyed  without  sin,  he  acted  rightly  in  withholding  his  obedience. 
And  in  as  much  as  he  occupied  a  public  position,  and  his  dis- 
obedience could  not  fail  to  be  generally  known,  it  was  right  that  he 
should  give,  in  public,  some  account  of  his  reasons  for  thus  acting. 
But  in  the  giving  of  this  account  of  his  reasons,  he  would  have  done 
well  to  remember  that  in  the  case  of  a  conflict  of  opinions  the 
presumption,  to  say  the  very  least,  is  in  favour  of  the  ecclesiastical 
superior ;  and  that  nothing  further  could  rightly  be  demanded  of  his 
hearers  than  that  they  should  give  him  credit  for  having  acted  in 
accordance  with  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience — not  that  they 
should  pass  judgment  as  between  him  and  the  Pope,  or  should  con- 
demn the  action  of  the  authorities  of  his  own  Order. 

So  far  as  regards  the  duty  of  obedience,  or  the  reverse,  to  the 
original  command.  Now,  as  regards  the  excommunication.  The 
precept  being  in  the  eyes  of  the  ecclesiastical  law,  and  of  the  faithful 
at  large,  of  a  perfectly  legitimate  character,  the  censure  for  its  non-ful- 
filment could  not,  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  be  shown  to  be 
canonically  null,  and  therefore  ought  to  have  been  observed  at  least 

'  Pastor,  Histoiy,  v.  173  sqq.,  who  refers  to  a  series  of  articles  in  Der  Katholik 
(1859-60)  which  we  have  not  been  able  to  consult.  A  high  encomium  is  passed 
on  the  Congregation  of  S.  Justina  by  Felix  Faber  or  Fabri  in  his  Evagatorium 
(Ed.  Hassler,  in  the  Bibliolthek  d.  liter.  Vereins  in  Stuttgart),  iii.  393.  He  call^ 
the  monks  of  this  congregation  "  forma  et  exemplar  omnium  religiosorum," 


250  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

in  public.  And  here  we  must  remark  that  Savonarola  was  not 
altogether  happy  in  his  citation  of  authorities.  He  first  quotes  Palu- 
danus,  but  by  the  opportune  omission  of  several  sentences  he  makes 
that  author  assert  of  every  unjust  excommunication  what  he  actually 
affirms  of  those  only  which  are,  in  his  opinion,  juridically  invalid.^ 
There  is  no  need  to  discuss  the  question  whether  Paludanus  is 
theoretically  right  in  drawing  the  distinction;  he  at  least  ought  not  to 
have  been  quoted  as  if  he  had  not  drawn  it.  Still  less  is  Savonarola 
justified  in  ascribing  to  S.  Antoninus  the  whole  of  what  he  himself 
has  taken,  or  professes  to  have  taken,  from  Paludanus.  S.  Antoninus 
gives  only  the  concluding  sentences  of  the  paragraph  from  de  Palude  ; 
and  for  the  rest  he  treats  the  question  independently,  and  much 
more  fully. 

Even  Gerson,  when  he  lays  down  that  in  many  cases  the  Pope 
may  lawfully  be  disobeyed,  defines  or  describes  such  cases  as  those  in 
which  he  "scandalously,  and  beyond  all  measure,  abuses  his  power" 
to  the  detriment  of  the  Church ;  ^  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
command  to  submit  in  the  affair  of  the  Congregation  could  be  brought 
under  this  description.  When  Gerson  speaks  of  a  scandalous  abuse 
of  power  it  may  be  assumed  that  he  means  just  what  other  canonists 
express  when  they  speak  of  an  ecclesiastical  censure  as  involving 
"an  intolerable  error."  And  it  is,  in  fact,  precisely  upon  this 
expression  that  Pico  della  Mirandola  takes  his  stand  in  his  Apology 
for  Fra  Girolamo.  Among  the  various  causes  of  nullity  in  the  case 
of  an  excommunication,  he  writes,  we  must  select  that  which  is 
described  as  an  intolerable  error.^  And  an  intolerable  error,  he 
goes  on  to  say,  is  certainly  involved  when  the  penalty  is  inflicted  for 
failure  to  obey  a  precept,  the  execution   of  which  would  be  of  its 

^  "Quantum  ad  tertium,  quod  excommunicatio  est  timenda,  sunt  duae  con- 
clusiones.  Et  prima  quod  [?  quoad]  ly  '  sit  injusta  est  tamen  timenda ' :  si  sic 
sit  injusta  quod  non  est  nulLa^  sed  solum  annullanda  ,  .  .  timenda  est  et  propter 
culpam  et  propter  pienani.  .  .  .  Et  secunda  conclusio  est  quod  «' ej/ ^w/^j/a  i^M^a 
est  ipso  jure  nulla  .  .  .  propter  pcsnani  juris  timenda  non  est,"  etc.  (Palud.,  in 
4  Sent.,  D.  xviii.  q.  I,  ad  3m).  Whatever  may  be  the  obscurities  of  this  passage, 
the  distinction  between  the  two  cases  is  carefully  drawn.  But  this  distinction 
is  entirely  eliminated  when  Savonarola  makes  Paludanus  say,  simply :  "  Excom- 
municatio injusta  propter  pcenam  juris  timenda  non  est,"  etc.  Luotto  gives  the 
passage  just  as  it  is  quoted  (or  rather  misquoted)  by  Savonarola. 

2  "  Contemptus  clavium  non  incurritur  in  multis  casibus  quibus  Papae  mandate 
non  obediretur  ;  dum  scilicet  abulitur  enormissime  et  scandal osissime  potestate 
sua   in   destructionem,  non   in   cedificationem "  (Circa   materiam   Excam.,   etc., 

n.  9)- 

'  Apologia,  lib.  i.  cap.  3  ;  Quelif,  ii.  13. 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  251 

very  nature  sinful,  or  again  impossible.  And,  as  if  half  conscious 
of  the  weakness  of  his  attempt  to  prove  that  it  would  have  been 
sinful  to  obey,  he  lays  very  particular  stress  on  the  impossibility  of 
carrying  out  the  Pope's  command. ^  How,  he  asks,  could  Fra 
Girolamo,  an  alien  by  birth,  compel  a  number  of  Florentine  youths 
to  allow  themselves  to  be  amalgamated  against  their  will  with  the 
new  Congregation  ?  To  this  it  is  obvious  to  reply  that  it  was  not 
impossible  for  Fra  Girolamo  to  do  what  he  could  to  further  the 
design  ;  and  that  it  would  have  been  time  to  speak  of  impossibility 
after  an  effort  had  been  made  and  had  failed. 

But  we  have  not  quite  done  with  Gerson.  The  real  canonical 
ground  of  Savonarola's  failure  to  obey,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
assign  a  plausible  one,  is  to  be  found  in  the  statement  boldly  made 
by  that  writer,  that  the  opinion  of  a  single  canonist  or  theologian  to 
the  effect  that  a  particular  censure  is  unjust,  may  be  considered  a 
sufficient  reason  for  disregarding  that  censure.  And  here  his  words 
would  seem  to  bear  directly  on  the  matter  of  the  excommunication 
rather  than  on  that  of  the  original  precept.  Pico  della  Mirandola 
was  not  slow  to  urge  this  point  in  Savonarola's  favour.  If,  he  says, 
the  opinion  of  a  single  canonist  or  theologian  is  sufficient  in  such  a 
case,  how  much  more  that  of  a  whole  community  of  learned  and 
fervent  religious  men  ?  2  But  on  this  point  Gerson's  position  is  an 
extreme  one,  and  cannot  be  said  to  have  gained  general  acceptance 
even  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Bellarmine,  in  his  reply  to  Gerson's 
tract,  makes  the  obvious  remark  that  the  view  here  expressed  by 
that  distinguished  writer  is  subversive  of  all  good  government,  for 
in  how  many  cases  of  excommunication  for  contumacy  would  it  not 
be  possible  to  find  "  one  canonist  or  theologian  "  who  should  declare 
that  the  sentence  was  unjust?  Bellarmine,  it  is  true,  wrote  his 
answer  to  Gerson  a  century  later,  and  in  the  fuller  light  of  the 
disciplinary  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent ;  but  his  strictures  on 
this  particular  paragraph  might  equally  well  have  been  penned  by 
an  author  writing  in  1497. 

However,  Savonarola  evidently  believed,  or  persuaded  himself, 
that  the  authority  of  Gerson  was  sutificient  for  his  purpose,  and  to 
this  extent  he  may  be  acquitted  of  conscious  insubordination.  That 
he  was  mistaken  is  our  firm  conviction,  for  which  we  have  already 
given  our  reasons.  That  the  mistake  was  one  from  which  a  deeper 
and  more  thorough  humility  would  have  saved  him  we  are  disposed 

»  Apologia,  Lib.  ii.,  cap.  4 ;  Quctif,  ii.  33.  "^  ^l''^->  P-  39- 


252  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

to  believe.  An  invincibly  erroneous  conscience  is  as  imperative 
in  its  demands  as  a  conscience  that  is  well  informed.  But,  as 
the  Canonists  remind  us  when  treating  of  this  matter,  not  every 
erroneous  conscience  is  "  invincibly "  mistaken.  An  erroneous 
conscience,  they  tell  us,  may  ordinarily  be  corrected  if  the  right 
means  are  taken.  Of  these,  the  most  obvious  is  a  readiness  to 
believe  that  a  man  is  usually  not  a  good  judge  in  his  own  cause, 
and  that  even  those  who  act  with  the  best  of  intentions  are 
liable  to  be  deceived  ;  and — still  more  important — a  readiness  to 
apply  these  very  general  maxims  to  one's  own  particular  case. 

We  have  already  more  than  once  insisted  that  it  was  not 
Alexander  alone  who  was  concerned  in  the  project  of  union,  but 
that  it  had  the  warm  support  of  Torriano  and  Caraffa  also.  But 
there  is  a  special  reason  why  we  should  again  call  attention  to  this 
circumstance.  The  present  writer  has  been  severely  taken  to  task 
for  not  having  adequately  recognised  the  merits  of  the  Lombard 
Provincial,  the  Blessed  Sebastian  Maggi,  of  whose  virtues  a  list 
has  been  drawn  up  for  his  special  instruction.  This  was  the  man 
against  whose  appointment  to  judge  his  cause  Savonarola  had 
objected,  in  1495,  as  "judicem  merito  suspectum,"  an  interested 
party.  And  when  the  Pope,  after  having  yielded  to  his  objections 
on  the  former  occasion,  puts  him  under  obedience  to  Caraffa 
instead,  Fra  Girolamo,  as  appears  from  the  letters  which  we  have 
quoted,  simply  ignores  the  claims  of  the  Cardinal,  and  the  wishes 
of  his  own  General,  and  makes  no  allusion  whatever  to  them,  as 
if  they  had  no  locus  standi  in  the  matter. 

Again,  in  speaking  of  the  Pope's  alleged  misinformation, 
Savonarola  again  and  again  insists  upon  the  soundness  of  his 
doctrine,  as  if  this  were  the  point  upon  which  the  validity  or 
invalidity  of  the  excommunication  turned.  But  surely  Fra 
Girolamo  ought  to  have  been  aware  that  the  excommunication  was 
inflicted,  not  for  unsound  doctrine,  but  purely  and  simply  for 
disobedience.  That  he  had  taught  unsound  doctrine  was  indeed 
alleged  in  the  proem  of  the  Brief ;  but  Savonarola  was  as  capable 
as  any  modern  student  of  Canon  Law  of  distinguishing  between 
the  motive  and  the  enacting  clauses  of  a  Papal  document.  To  con- 
found them,  was  merely  to  throw  dust  in  his  own  eyes,  and  in  that 
of  those  to  whom  his  letters  and  his  later  sermons  were  addressed. 

We  cannot,  then ,  admit  that  Savonarola  was  Canonically  justified 
in  the  resistance  which  he  opposed  not  merely  to  Alexander  VL, 


THE  EXCOMMUNICATION  253 

but  to  the  superiors  of  his  own  Order,  or  in  his  public  disregard  of 
the  excommunication  as  invalid;  nor  can  we  profess  to  be  convinced 
that  his  conduct  in  the  matter  was  entirely  blameless ;  though  we  are 
disposed  to  think  that  the  fault  is  to  be  looked  for  rather  at  the 
outset  of  his  career  than  at  this  particular  crisis  of  affairs.  And  in  as 
much  as  nothing  more  powerfully  contributed  to  confirm  him  in  the 
position  which  he  now  held  than  the  initial  conviction  that  he  held  a 
special  divine  mission,  and  was  the  recipient  of  special  revelations, 
it  seems  to  us  that  this  chapter  of  his  life  is  enough  to  throw  the 
gravest  doubts  upon  the  genuineness  of  the  claim,  which  he  now 
more  than  ever  emphatically  put  forth,  to  be  regarded  as  a  man 
sent  by  God  to  the  city  of  Florence,  and  charged  to  deliver  a 
message  to  all  the  world  from  the  vantage-ground  of  that  watch- 
tower  of  ItalyJ 

'  Dr  Schnitzer  (in  H.P.B.  xxv.)  has  discussed  at  great  length  the  questions 
dealt  with  in  the  three  last  chapters.  He  lays  down,  in  effect,  the  following  pro- 
positions :  (i)  That  the  Pope  was  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Roman  and 
Tuscan  Congregation  not  by  a  desire  for  ecclesiastical  reform,  but  by  purely 
political  considerations,  and  that  this  was  notorious  at  the  time  ;  (2)  that  the 
command  to  accept  the  scheme  was  equivalent  to  a  command  to  pass  from  a  stricter 
to  a  jaxer  observance,  "from  Observantism  to  Conventualism  "  ;  (3)  that  such  a 
command  was  one  which  (according  to  recognised  principles  of  Canon  Law)  it 
would  have  been  sinful  to  obey  ;  (4)  that  a  command  to  do  an  act  which  is  of  its 
nature  sinful  must  be  held  to  he  invalid  even  in  for  0  externa  ;  (5)  that  the  penalty 
of  excommunication,  imposed  for  the  non-observance  of  such  a  precept,  was 
likewise  invalid,  even  in  for 0  externa  ;  (6)  that  open  disregard  of  the  censure  was 
lawful,  provided  that  the  faithful  had  been  so  apprised  of  the  merits  of  the  case 
that  no  one  could  reasonably  take  scandal.  To  which  we  would  reply  (of  necessity 
very  briefly)  :  (i)  that  it  is  by  no  means  clear  that  the  Pope's  motives  were 
exclusively  political,  and  that  it  is  not  for  the  subject  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the 
motives  of  his  ecclesiastical  superior  ;  (2)  that  the  purpose  which  the  Pope,  Caraffa, 
and  Torriano  professedly  had  in  view  was  a  levelling-iip  of  the  Conventuals,  not 
a  levelling-down  of  the  Observantines  ;  and  that,  consequently,  obedience  to  the 
precept  would  not  have  involved  any  act  which  of  its  nature  was  sinful.  But  if 
this  be  so,  then  the  rest  of  the  argument  falls  to  the  ground.  Dr  Schnitzer's 
treatment  of  the  case  does,  however,  make  it  easier  to  believe  that  Savonarola 
(even  though,  as  we  believe,  mistaken)  acted  throughout  in  good  faith  ;  and  to 
this  extent,  at  least,  his  latest  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  subject  is  most 
welcome. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    LONG    SILENCE 

AFTER  Ascension  Day,  4th  May  1497,  Savonarola  did  not 
again  appear  in  the  pulpit  until  the  February  of  the  following 
year.  That  he  kept  silence  so  long  was  not,  as  he  more  than  once 
explained,  because  he  deemed  himself  bound  to  respect,  even  in 
public,  the  sentence  of  excommunication — though  he  admits,  what 
is  very  much  to  his  credit,  that  he  deemed  it  well  for  a  time  to  have 
regard  for  the  scruples  (as  he  regarded  them)  of  timid  souls.^  But, 
in  fact,  during  the  summer  months  all  preaching,  as  has  been  seen, 
had  been  inhibited  by  reason  of  the  plague  then  raging  ;  and  after  the 
plague  had  abated,  it  was  perhaps  felt  that  any  public  appearance  on 
the  part  of  Fra  Girolamo  would  only  have  the  effect  of  frustrating  the 
efforts  of  a  friendly  government  on  his  behalf.  For  throughout  the 
latter  half  of  the  year,  from  July  to  December,  and  again  in  January 
and  February  1498,  the  successive  Signories  were  composed  for  the 
most  part  of  supporters  of  the  Friar.  That  this  was  so  must  be 
attributed  to  several  causes.  In  June  and  July  the  Palleschi,  or  Bigi, 
disappointed  by  the  failure  of  Piero's  recent  attempt  to  enter  the  city, 
and  irritated  by  the  contemptuous  hostility  of  the  Arrabbiati,  were 
again  following  their  old  policy  of  joining  their  forces  with  the 
Frateschi,  and  thus  secured  an  electoral  victory  for  the  latter. 2  In 
August  came  the  discovery  of  that  Medicean  plot,  mentioned  in  a 
former  chapter,  in  which  Bernardo  del  Nero  had  unfortunately 
allowed  himself  to  be  at  least  indirectly  implicated.  And  the  severe 
blow  which  was  struck  at  the  party  by  the  execution  of  Bernardo 
and  his  fellow-conspirators,  though  it  prepared  the  way  for  future 
reprisals,  was  calculated  for  the  present  at  least  to  disarm  opposition 
from   that   quarter.      Moreover,   the   vague  alarms  excited   by    the 

^  "  Ho  osservato  qualche  ceremonia  di  fuori  per  rispelto  ai  pusilli "  (Sermon 
on  Sexagesima  Sunday  1498). 

2  Somenzi  to  Sforza,  29th  June  (summarised  below). 

254  .    . 


THE  LONG   SILENCE  455 

"startling  revelations"  of  the  trial  of  the  conspirators  served  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  popular  party,  and  were  no  doubt 
exploited  for  that  purpose.^ 

'  There  was,  however,  apart  from  politics,  a  more  satisfactory 
reason  for  the  revival  of  Fra  Girolamo's  personal  popularity  at  this 
time.  The  prevalence  of  the  plague  had  served  to  bring  into 
evidence  his  best  qualities.  On  9th  July  the  younger  members  of 
the  community  of  S.  Marco  were  sent  out  of  Florence  to  avoid  the 
infection,  but  Savonarola  himself,  with  a  number  of  his  brethren, 
remained  behind  in  the  city,  and  gave  themselves  with  the  utmost 
self-devotion  to  the  service  of  the  sick.  This  season  of  silence  and 
of  charitable  labours  was  also  marked  by  considerable  literary 
activity.  Besides  the  Triumph  of  the  Cross,  he  published  at  this 
time  a  number  of  minor  ascetical  treatises,  chiefly  in  the  form  of 
letters  to  those  who  sought  his  advice.  And  in  addition  to  the 
letters  which  he  himself  published,  there  are  extant  a  considerable 
number  addressed  to  private  friends,  which  have  been  since  printed 
in  the  various  collections  of  Savonaroliana.  Of  these,  several  were 
written  in  the  latter  half  of  1497,  and  the  substance  of  some  of  them 
will  be  given  below. 

Returning  for  a  moment  to  the  political  condition  of  Florence, 
in  its  bearing  on  the  fate  of  Savonarola,  it  is  to  be  observed  that, 
immediately  on  the  entrance  of  the  new  government  into  office  in 
July,  the  Signory  no  longer  left  the  duty  of  corresponding  with  the 
Florentine  envoys  at  Rome  in  the  hands  of  the  Ten,  but  repeatedly 
and  most  urgently  wrote  on  their  own  account  in  order  by  all  means 
to  secure,  if  possible,  the  revocation  of  the  censure  inflicted  on  Fra 
Girolamo. 

One  more  event  must  be  here  referred  to  in  order  that  the  series 
of  documents  which  is  to  follow  may  be  made  intelligible.  On  19th 
June,  the  day  after  the  solemn  publication  of  the  Brief  Cum  s<zpe^ 
news  reached  Florence  of  the  brutal  murder,  in  Rome,  of  the  Pope's 
eldest  son,  Piero  Borgia,  Duke  of  Gandia.  Suspicion  fell  on  various 
distinguished  personages,  but  the  author  of  the  crime  was  never 
discovered.  The  blow  was  a  terrible  one  to  the  Pope,  and  so 
deeply  was  he  affected  by  it  that  it  really  seemed  for  awhile  as  if 

1  On  1st  September,  Manfredi,  after  recording  that  the  new  Signory  "sono 
tutti  delli  divoti  et  inclinati  a  fra  Hieronymo,"  goes  on  to  say  that  he  has  been 
assured  by  "a  person  worthy  of  credit  and  of  very  great  authority"  "che  e  cosa 
stupendissima  intendere  le  pratiche  che  se  mancggiavano  a  nialefitio  et  ruina  de 
questa  meschina  citta"  (Cappelli,  n.  128). 


256  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

he  were  seriously  determined  to  reform  his  own  life,  and  to  purge  his 
court  of  its  manifold  abuses.^  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  item 
in  the  correspondence  of  this  period  is  the  letter  which  on  25th  June 
Savonarola  wrote  to  the  Pope  to  console  him  in  his  affliction.  It 
will  be  found  in  its  place  below. 

In  resuming  our  calendar  of  contemporary  documents,  we  take 
it  up  at  the  period  where  it  was  interrupted  (20th  May),  after  the 
issue  of  the  Brief,  Cum  scepe,  but  previous  to  its  publication  at 
Florence. 

22,rd  May;  Savonarola  to  Lodovico  Pittorio.^ — The  patience  of  God 
in  dealing  with  sinners  shows  His  great  goodness,  and  in  the  patience  of 
His  elect  is  shown  the  power  of  His  grace.  If  there  were  no  bad  men 
on  earth,  how  could  there  be  persecutions  ?  And  if  persecutions  were 
wanting,  where  would  be  the  patience  and  the  proof  of  the  saints  ? 
And  where,  then,  would  be  their  crown  ?  Study  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testament,  and  you  will  see  that  the  saints  have  had  to  endure  greater 
persecutions  than  these.  And  I  warn  you  beforehand  that  we,  too, 
shall  have  to  endure  greater  persecutions  than  these.  "  Hoc  ergo 
locutus  sum  vobis,  ut  cum  venerit  hora  eorum,  reminiscamini  quia  ego 
dixi  vobis."  If  the  tribulations  which  we  have  predicted  seem  not  to 
come  so  quickly,  be  not  deceived,  for  God  hath  disposed  all  things 
sweetly.  They  will  come  without  doubt,  and  will  be  only  too  evident 
to  those  who  experience  them.  Jeremiah  foretold  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  during  a  space  of  forty  years,  and  all  that  time  patiently 
endured  the  ridicule  to  which  he  was  daily  exposed.  Our  Lord  fore- 
told the  second  destruction  of  the  city  more  than  forty  years  before- 
hand, and  the  wicked  did  not  believe  Him  ;  and  yet  the  destruction 
came.  Great  tribulations  are  always  predicted  many  years  before  they 
come.  Yet  I  do  not  say  that  the  tribulations  which  I  have  foretold  will 
be  so  long  in  coming  ;  nay,  they  will  come  soon  ;  indeed  I  say  that  the 
tribulation  has  already  commenced.  For  the  rest,  to  desire  such 
chastisement,  and  even  the  punishment  of  an  individual  sinner,  for 
the  general  good  of  the  Church,  or  for  the  salvation  of  some  one 
in  particular,  is  not  hatred,  but  a  laudable  zeal,  which  —  if  it  be 
"secundum  scientiam" —  is  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God.  Leave  him 
to  act  ;  He  will  not  suffer  one  of  His  elect  to  perish.  Our  affairs  here 
go  on  well,  and  prosper  in  the  midst  of  tribulation.  Pray  for  me,  and 
commend  me  to  Signor  Messer  Hercule  (d'Este). 

'  "  El  Papa  in  su  questo  caso  dimonstro  essersi  molto  risentito,  et  in  tutto 
disposto  ad  volere  mutare  vita,  et  essere  un  altro  homo  da  quello  e  state.  .  .  . 
Preterea  heri  in  consistorio  dixe  de  volere  reformare  la  chiesa  nel  temporale  et 
spirituale,  et  ad  questo  effecto  elesse  VL  cardinali  che  havessero  ad  veder  le  cose 
reformande,"  etc.  (Letter  to  Giovanni  Bentivoglio,  Rome,  20th  June,  given  by 
Pastor,  v.  554). 

2  Gherardi,  p.  279.     Piltorio  was  chancellor  to  d'Este. 


THE   LONG   SILENCE  257 

i-]th  May;  Bracci  to  the  Ten.'  — The  Pope  has  said  that  Fra 
Girolanio  will  not  confess  to  having  spoken  ill  of  his  Holiness,  which 
after  all  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  seeing  how  strongly  the  Friar 
is  supported  by  your  Lordships  (veduto  quanto  epse  se  li  monstrano 
afifetionate).  But  his  Holiness  is  just  as  certain  that  Savonarola  has 
spoken  ill  of  him  as  he  is  that  he  is  Pope  ;  for  he  has  it  on  the  testimony 
of  so  many  trustworthy  witnesses.  He  is  astonished  that  you  should 
think  him  capable  of  acting  in  this  matter  without  good  and  sufficient 
grounds.  For  the  present  he  would  say  no  more  than  that  he  awaits 
the  reply  of  the  Signory  to  his  Brief.-  Then  he  asked  me  if  I  knew 
whether  Camerino  had  yet  arrived.  I  said  I  knew  nothing  about  it ; 
but  I  spoke  strongly  on  behalf  of  the  Friar,  and  besought  H.  H.  to 
proceed  in  the  matter  with  gravity  and  mature  deliberation  ;  reminding 
him  that  any  unjust  proceedings  against  Fra  Girolamo  could  not  fail 
to  cause  a  disturbance  in  the  city.  I  dwelt  upon  the  very  great  affection 
and  devotion  with  which  he  is  universally  regarded  by  all  the  people, 
on  account  of  his  marvellous  learning,  the  integrity  of  his  life,  and  the 
wonderful  fruits  of  moral  reformation  which  he  has  produced.  To  this 
H.  PL  made  no  answer.  But  I  think  that  if  the  Signory  would  write  a 
suitable  letter  to  the  Pope,  all  might  yet  be  well.  I  have  done  my  best 
with  Perugia  and  the  Bishop  of  Capaccio,  who  now  seem  well  disposed. 
In  the  Cardinal  of  Naples  I  place  little  trust ;  but  I  will  do  my  best 
with  him. 

^<^th  May;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^ — Letters  are  continually  received 
here,  to  the  great  joy  of  our  enemies,  concerning  the  divisions  in  the 
city,  and  every  one  knows  who  is  for  the  Friar,  and  who  against  him  ; 
and  the  Milanese  Ambassador  is  said  to  have  a  list  of  names,  etc.;  and 
all  the  dissensions  among  the  Signory  and  the  Eight  are  fully  reported, 
to  the  dishonour  of  the  city. 

2)Oth  May;  Same  to  same.''— Has  had  a  long  talk  with  Caraffa,  who 
professes  to  have  known  nothing  of  the  Brief  till  after  it  was  sent  ;  and 
says  that  the  Pope  kept  it  quite  a  secret ;  and  that  afterwards  he 
repented  of  having  despatched  it,  and  especially  of  having  done  so  by 
Camerino,  when  he  learned  that  this  person  was  an  enemy  of  the  city 
and  of  Fra  Girolamo.  I  told  him  that  your  Lordships  had  heard  of  the 
Brief  by  letters  from  here  ;  but  that  I  had  not  yet  heard  of  Camerino's 
arrival  at  Florence.  The  Cardinal  said  :  If  he  is  wise,  he  never  will 
arrive  there.  Some  other  means,  he  added,  must  be  taken  to  bring  Fra 
G.  to  obedience.     In  a  word,  the  Friar,  he  said,  had  brought  discord 


1  Gherardi,  p.  164. 

2  From  this  source  alone  we  learn  that  a  copy  of  the  Brief  was  sent  to 
the  Signory  as  such.  Possibly  the  whole  batch  of  copies,  addressed  to  the 
various  monasteries  and  convents  of  the  city,  were  to  be  handed  over  to  the 
Signory  in  the  first  instance,  for  delivery  at  ihcir  respective  destinations. 

^  Gheiardi,  p.  166. 
•»  Ibid. 

R 


258  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

into  the  city,  and  something  must  be  done.  I  said  it  was  not  the  Friar, 
but  his  enemies,  who  had  brought  discord  into  the  city,  and  had 
procured  this  Brief.  A  propos  of  this  he  assured  me  that  only  yesterday 
the  Cardinal  de'  Medici  had  spoken  highly  of  Savonarola,  and  he 
declared  that  Piero  made  no  complaint  against  him.  For  all  this, 
I  assure  you  once  more  that  it  was  the  Cardinal  himself  who  procured 
the  Brief.  And  its  real  author  was  no  other  than  his  Paternity  Fra 
Mariano.  And  as  for  Piero's  attempt  to  enter  the  city,  I  warn  you  that 
many  letters  have  passed  to  and  fro  under  the  mantles  of  these  Friars.* 

^ihjime;  the  Ten  to  Bracci.-— As  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  Signory 
have  not  yet  received  any  Brief  concerning  Fra  G.  Perhaps  Camerino 
has  changed  his  mind  about  coming,  knowing  what  sort  of  a  letter  he 
has  in  charge  (sappiendo  il  breve  ha  a  collo).  The  Signory  will  certainly 
reply  to  the  Pope  with  great  modesty  and  reverence,  and  you  must  do 
your  utmost  to  gain  the  good  offices  of  Perugia  and  Capaccio,  promising 
and  giving  every  assurance  that  Fra  G.  will  ever  be  most  obedient  and 
respectful  (obsequentissimo  et  devotissimo)  towards  the  Holy  See.  Do 
what  you  can  also  with  the  Cardinal  of  Naples. 

\i,th  June  J  Bracci  to  the  Ten.^— Fra  G.  having  written  to  the  Pope 
and  also  to  Perugia  to  justify  himself,  it  appears  to  me,  according  to 
what  I  can  learn  from  Perugia  and  Capaccio,  who  are  now  become  his 
firm  friends,  that  the  letters  in  question  have  greatly  mitigated  the  anger 
of  H.  H.  (habbino  giovato  assai  et  mitigato  N.S.)."*  But  the  Cardinal  of 
Naples,  by  reason  of  his  being  the  Protector  of  the  Order,  and  because 
the  General  and  the  Procurator  are  always  about  him,  has  taken  the 
business  a  good  deal  to  heart  (ha  presa  questa  cosa  un  pocho  co'  denti). 
Accordingly,  Becchi  and  I  have  had  an  interview  with  his  most  reverend 
Lordship,  and  we  trust  that  we  have  to  some  extent  talked  him  over 
(lo  habbiamo  combattuto  assai  et  ridoctolo,  pure  alfine,  ad  migliore 
collera).     Becchi  will  give  further  details.^ 

i6thjunej  Camerino  to  the  Signory.^ — Although  I  am  commissioned 
and  ordered  by  his  Holiness  to  present  myself  to  your  Lordships  on 
certain  important  business,  nevertheless,  I  am  informed  on  good  authority 
that  I  cannot  do  so  without  danger  to  my  life,  because  some  time  ago  the 
Eight  put  me  under  ban.     The  ground  of  this  was  that,  solely  out  of 


^  Becchi's  grammar  seems  to  be  a  little  at  fault  here.  We  have  paraphrased 
freely.  His  words  are  :  "Dixivi,  per  altra  mia,  chi  haveva  sollecitati  clecti  brevi. 
Confermovi  el  medesimo  ;  et  addo  unum,  che  e  suto  capo  et  auctore  di  questa 
cosa  :  et  questo  e  el  padre  Generale  fra  Mariano.  Et,  perdonimi  sua  Paternita, 
anchora  in  questa  venuta  non  s'e  stato  ;  et  molte  lectere  sono  ite  et  venute  sotto  le 
loro  cappe,  etc. " 

■■^  Ibid.,  p.  167. 

3  Ibid. 

*  This  must  refer  to  Savonarola's  letter  of  22nd  May. 

••  Becchi's  letter  on  this  occasion  has  not  beer,  preserved. 

*  Gherardi    p.  16S. 


THE   LONG  SILENCE  259 

zeal  for  the  faith,  I  had  publicly  spoken  against  the  £alse  teaching  of  Fra 
G.  of  Ferrara.  A  strange  thing,  surely,  that  the  Eight  should  concern 
themselves  about  matters  of  faith  and  doctrine.  However,  I  beg  of  your 
Lordships  to  send  me  a  safe-conduct  for  the  remainder  of  this  present 
month,  etc. 

This  is  the  last  letter  previous  to  the  publication  of  the  Brief. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  that  Camerino  got  his  safe-conduct. 

22nd June;  Becchi  to  the  Ten. — The  writer  and  Bracci  are  greatly 
distressed  at  having  received  no  news  from  Florence.  Contradictory 
rumours  have  reached  them  concerning  the  Friar.  They  can  do 
nothing,  and  no  one  will  attend  to  them  unless  they  have  instructions. 
The  Pope  has  put  everything,  including  the  affairs  of  Fra  G.,  in  the 
hands  of  the  six  Cardinals  who  are  on  the  Commission  of  Reform.  Great 
hopes  are  entertained  that  the  appointment  of  this  Commission  will 
have  salutary  results,  if  only  the  Pope  will  persevere  in  his  good 
purposes.  If  he  does  so,  the  prediction  of  Fra  G.  will  be  fulfilled, 
viz.  that  the  Church  is  to  be  reformed  with  the  sword,  etc. 

The  appointment  of  this  Commission  of  Reform  was  the 
immediate  result  of  the  Pope's  temporary  access  of  remorse  after 
the  murder  of  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Gandia.  At  its  head  were  the 
Cardinals  of  Naples  (Caraffa)  and  of  Lisbon  (da  Costa),  and  among 
its  subordinate  members  were  the  Bishop  of  Capaccio  and  the 
Canonist,  Felino  Sandeo.^ 

25/^  June;  Savonarola  to  Alexander  VI. ^ — "Faith,  most  Holy 
Father,  is  the  one  and  only  true  source  of  peace  and  consolation  for 
the  heart  of  man.  For  whereas  it  transcends  both  sense  and  reason, 
and  rests  upon  the  power  and  goodness  of  God,  lifting  up  the  soul  to 
invisible  things,  it  makes  us  to  be  no  longer  in  this  world,  and  confers 
upon  us  that  greatness  of  soul  whereby  we  not  only  endure  all  adversity, 
but  even  glory  in  our  tribulations.  .  .  .  Blessed,  therefore,  is  he  who  is 
called  by  our  Lord  to  this  grace  of  faith,  without  which  no  one  can 
have  peace.  .  .  .  Let  your  Holiness,  then,  respond  to  this  call,  and 
you  will  see  how  quickly  sadness  is  turned  to  joy.  .  .  .^  All  other 
consolation  is  trivial  and  deceitful.  .  .  .  Faith  alone  brings  joy 
Irom  our  far-off  country  (a  terra  longinqua).     What  I  have  heard,  and 

^  "VI.  Cardinal!,  li  quali  furno  duy  primi  vescovi  cardinal!  [Napoli  et 
Ulixbona,  5»c]  .  .  .  duy  primi  preti  .  ,  .  duy  primi  diaconi  .  .  .  duy  auditori 
de  Rota  [Felino  et  G.  de  Pereiiis],  et  lo  vescovo  de  Capazo  suo  secretario " 
(Letter  to  Bentivoglio,  supra,  p.  256  node'). 

'^  Perrens,  p.  364. 

3  We  venture  to  supply  what  seems  to  be  a  gap  in  the  text.  The  words  "  hiiic 
vocationi,  et  videbit,"  or  their  equivalent,  are  not  read  in  the  letter  as  given  by 
Perrens. 


26o  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

have  seen  with  my  eyes,  and  have  handled,  that  I  speak  ;  and  for  this 
I  willingly  suffer  persecution  that  I  may  gain  Christ  and  avoid 
eternal  pains.  .  .  .  Let  your  Holiness  then  help  forward  the  work 
of  faith  for  which  I  labour  even  unto  bonds,  and  do  not  give  ear  to  the 
wicked  ;  then  shall  God  give  you  the  oil  of  gladness  for  the  spirit  of 
grief.  For  the  things  which  I  have  predicted  are  true.  But  who  has 
ever  resisted  God  and  yet  found  peace  ?  These  things,  most  holy 
Father  I  have  written  to  you  (for  a  few  words  are  enough  for  a  wise 
man)  under  the  prompting  of  charity  and  in  all  humility  ;  desiring  that 
your  Holiness  may  find  in  God  that  true  comfort  which  does  not 
deceive.  .  .  .     May  He  .  .  .  console  you  in  your  distress.     Vale."  "■ 

25//;  Ju?ic ;  Costabili  to  d'Este.^ — This  morning  the  Duke  (Sforza) 
published  in  his  court  the  news  that  Fra  Girolamo  has  been  publicly 
declared  excommunicate  in  four  churches  of  Florence  ;  and  that,  on  the 
following  day,  deeming  the  excommunication  null,  he  and  all  his  brethren 
celebrated  Mass.  Thereafter,  by  the  Duke's  command,  a  letter  was  read 
in  which  Fra  G.  proves  that  the  excommunication  may  be  disregarded. 
And  although  to  many  men  of  good  position  (homini  da  bene),  and  to 
me  also,  it  appears  that  the  Friar  has  given  excellent  and  holy  reasons 
(bonissime  et  sante  rasone,  sic),  nevertheless,  the  Duke,  and  some  few 
of  his  courtiers  (alcuni  puochi  assentatori)  declared  that  they  had  never 
heard  anything  so  absurd.  The  Duke  gave  me  to  understand  that  he 
addressed  his  remarks  in  particular  to  me,  and  rallied  me  about  the 
prophecies  in  which  I  had  invited  him  to  believe.  After  he  had  gone  on 
in  this  fashion  for  a  while  I  could  contain  myself  no  longer,  and  broke 
out  in  defence  of  the  reasons  alleged  by  Fra  Girolamo,  and  Mastro 
Vincenzo,  who  was  present,  could  not  deny  that  the  Friar  had  good 
grounds  to  go  upon.  And  while  we  were  in  the  middle  of  this  dispute, 
the  Florentine  Ambassador  came  in,  to  whom  I  forthwith  resigned  the 
conduct  of  the  defence.  And  although  the  other  ambassadors  and  the 
Duke  were  all  down  upon  him  (siano  stati  tutti  adosso),  he  was  at 
no  loss  for  an  answer,  and  I  can  assure  your  Highness  that  they 
fought  out  the  question  with  considerable  vigour  (I'uno  I'altro  si  hanno 
datto  per  le  cinge  uno  pezo).  At  last  the  Duke  dismissed  the  Florentine 
and  myself,  and  remained  in  consultation  with  the  rest.  I  will  take  care 
to  keep  you  informed  of  all  that  I  can  learn. 

27th  June ;  Bracci  to  the  Ten.^ — Has  been  to  the  Pope  to  beg  him 

^  It  is  almost  incredible  that  Villari  (ii.  38)  should  have  made  the  mistake  of 
saying  that  at  a  later  period  Alexander  expressed  indignation  at  this  very  letter. 
When  the  Pope,  as  Bonsi  reports  in  a  letter  to  the  Ten,  dated  7th  March  1498, 
complained  that  Savonarola  "  Ii  rimprovcrava  la  morte  del  figliuolo  "  (Alarchese, 
n.  20),  he  obviously  alluded,  not  to  the  letter  ot  eight  months  previously,  but  to  a 
stinging  passage  in  Fra  Girolamo's  sermon  on  Sexagesima  Sunday,  only  a  few  days 
before  Bonsi's  audience. 

'^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xli.  Antonio  Costabili  v\as  d'Este's  ambassador  at 
Milan. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  171. 


THE  LONG  SILENCE  «6l 

to  withdraw  the  censure.  He  would  have  easily  (!)  prevailed,  but  for 
certain  private  letters  which  have  since  arrived,  and  which  have  spoiled 
everything.  For  whereas  at  first  his  Holiness  declared  to  Perugia  that 
the  publication  of  the  Brief  at  such  a  time  displeased  him  greatly,  and 
was  altogether  contrary  to  his  intentions  (!),  he  afterwards  changed  his 
mind,  and  turned  over  the  whole  affair  to  the  Commission  of  Reform. 
Notwithstanding  this,  I  should  at  least  have  obtained  a  suspension  of 
the  censure  but  for  some  fresh  communications  which  arrived  later  still. 
The  result  of  these  was  that  yesterday  the  Pope  summoned  me,  and 
after  calling  God  to  witness  that  he  had  begun  to  be  well-disposed 
towards  Fra  G.,  and  after  praising  him  for  certain  letters  which  he  had 
received  from  him,*  told  us  that  he  had  seen  another  epistle  of  his, 
a  formal  document  issued  subsequently  to  the  excommunication,  which 
had  determined  him  to  proceed  against  the  Friar  with  all  the  rigours 
of  the  Canon  Law  ;  and  on  this  topic  he  spoke  in  a  very  passionate 
manner.-  Moreover,  he  had  heard  that  the  Friar,  being  excommunicate, 
had  celebrated  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  After  this  he  began 
to  speak  on  politics  ;  but  concluded  by  telling  Paolo  Rucellai  and 
Niccolo  Cattani,  who  were  present,  to  thank  Jacopo  de'  Nerli  for  his 
good  offices  in  opposing  the  Friar.^ 

Z(^ih  June;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.* — Sends  the  names  of  the  new 
Signory,  who,  contrary  to  his  hopes  and  expectations,  are  for  the  most 
part  friendly  to  the  Friar.  So  he  probably  will  not  be  expelled  the  city, 
even  though  the  Pope  has  excommunicated  him.  Things  are  going  from 
bad  to  worse  {i.e.  from  a  Milanese  point  of  view),  and  it  seems  as  if  the 
Frateschi  were  going  to  have  things  all  their  own  way  ;  and  this  is 
because  the  friends  of  Piero  (quali  si  chiamano  li  Bisi,  sic)  have  made 
common  cause  with  them  ;  and  this  again  is  because  "li  Disperati"  {i.e. 
the  Arrabbiati)  thoroughly  frightened  the  "Bisi"  on  the  occasion  of 
Piero's  fiasco,  and  were  like  to  have  cut  off  all  their  heads.  Wherefore, 
the  Greys,  who  before  were  disposed  to  join  with  the  enemies  of  the 
Friar,  have  now  gone  over  to  his  side,  and  no  one  can  foresee  the 
end  of  these  dissensions. 

2nd  July ;  The  Signory  to  Bracci.^ — They  have  received  his  report 
that  the  Pope  has  committed  the  case  of  Fra  Girolamo  to  the  six 
Cardinals.  They  thank  him  for  his  good  offices,  and  exhort  him  to 
persevere. 

This  very  brief  letter  is  of  interest  only  as  emanating  from  the 

*  Probably  those  of  22ii<l  May  and  of  25lh  June  {supra). 

^  This  letter  of  Savor.arola'.s,  which  aroused  the  anger  of  the  Pope,  was,  of 
course,  the  Episiola  .  .  .  contra  Excomintinicatianem  subreptitiam  summarised  in 
the  foregoing  chapter. 

•*  Nerli  was  one  of  the  chiclb  of  the  aristocratic  party  (GuicciarJiiii,  Sloria 
Fiorentiita,  p.  1 40), 

*  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xxix. 

*  Marchese,  n.  5. 


262  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

newly  appointed  Signory,  composed,  as  has  been  said,  of  supporters 
of  Fra  Girolamo. 

On  5th  July  was  held  a  Pratica  at  which  the  following  question 
was  put  : — 

"The  Magnificent  Signory,  bearing  in  mind  the  excommunication 
issued  by  the  Supreme  Pontifif  against  Fra  Girolamo  di  S.  Marco,  seeks 
advice  as  to  what  is  to  be  done  in  respect  of  the  said  excommunica- 
tion ;  and  whether  it  is  advisable  to  write  to  the  Pope  in  his  favour  .  .  . 
or  the  contrary."  ^ 

The  voting,  or  rather  the  speaking,  is  hy  panchate  (sic)  or  benches, 
each  bench  or  order  of  the  magistracy  expressing  its  opinions- 
unanimous  or  discordant  as  the  case  might  be— by  means  of  one  or 
two  spokesmen.  The  speakers  report  a  majority  as  in  favour  of  a 
letter  being  written  by  the  Signory  as  proposed,  but  a  considerable 
minority  prefer  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  discretion  of  their 
magnificent  lordships.  It  is  noteworthy  that  much  solicitude  is 
expressed,  not  merely  for  Savonarola  himself,  but  also  for  the  city, 
lest  it  should  suffer  through  his  excommunication.  One  speaker, 
Lorenzo  de'  Lenzi,  expresses  himself  more  cordially  than  the  rest. 
If  the  city  gives  offence  to  God,  he  says,  it  cannot  hope  to  prosper. 
And  if  the  Signory  has  more  than  once  addressed  the  Holy  See  on 
behalf  of  other  citizens  who  have  been  excommunicate,  how  much 
more  so  should  they  do  this  for  a  father  and  a  religious  who  has 
preserved  the  city,  and  maintained  it,  and  corrected  its  vices.  On 
the  other  hand  Guidantonio  Vespucci,  who  was  no  friend  to  the  Friar, 
after  reporting  the  opinion  of  his  colleagues,  added,  on  his  own 
account  (as  the  reporter  is  careful  to  note),  that  it  would  be  well  to 
enquire  by  whom  this  matter  was  set  on  foot,  whether  by  citizens  or 
by  religious  ;  because,  if  this  were  ascertained,  it  would  be  easier  to 
find  a  remedy  for  the  mischief.^  The  result  of  the  debate  was  the 
following  letter. 

S//i  July;  The  Signory  to  Alexander  VI.^ — Past  experience  does  not 
permit  us  to  doubt  of  the  good  dispositions  of  your  Holiness  towards  us 
and  the  city  ;  wherefore  we  have  the  greater  hopes  of  obtaining  what  we 


1  The  minutes  of  this  and  other  debates  bearing  on  the  case  of  Savonarola  have 
been  published  by  I.upi  in  the  Archivio  Storico  Italiano,  Terza  Serie,  iii.  25  sqij. 

'■^  "  Et  e  bene  di  vedere  donde  h  soUiciUUa  questa  cosa,  o  da'  cictadini  o 
relligiosi,  perch^,  intesa  la  cosa,  si  pu6  meglio  medicare,  et  hoc  ulH?nu?n  dixit  ex 
seipso,"  etc.  (Lupi,  p.  27). 

*  Marchese,  n.  7. 


THE  LONG  SILENCE  263 

now  ask  for.  We  are  greatly  distressed  that  Fra  G.  of  Ferrara  has 
incurred  an  ecclesiastical  censure,  boih  because  our  reverence  for  the 
Holy  See  makes  any  such  censure,  inflicted  upon  any  of  our  citizens,  a 
matter  of  deep  concern  to  us,  and  also  because  we  are  displeased  that  a 
man  of  such  signal  virtue  should  have  been  wrongfully  accused  to  your 
Holiness.  He  has  lived  some  years  in  our  city,  earnestly  engaged  in 
the  ministry  of  preaching  ;  and  his  manner  of  life  and  his  doctrine  are 
alike  free  from  reproach.  But  eminent  virtue,  as  you  know,  never  fails 
to  excite  envy.  There  are  those  among  us  who  think  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  finding  fault  with  him.  Their  error  is  pardonable,  but  it 
ought  not  to  be  confirmed  by  a  sentence  in  accordance  with  their 
wishes.'  In  a  word,  your  Holiness  can  do  nothing  that  will  give  us 
greater  pleasure  than  to  withdraw  the  excommunication. 

Wi  July ;  The  Brethren  of  S.  Marco  to  the  Pope.-'— We  heard,  since 
the  despatch  of  our  last  letter  to  your  Holiness  {i.e.  the  Apologeticuni) 
that  certain  of  our  citizens,  who  have  but  little  fear  of  God,  have  sent  to 
your  Holiness  misleading  and  exasperating  reports  concerning  our 
father,  Fra  Hieronymo,  alleging  that  his  doctrine  is  contrary  to  that  of 
the  Gospel,  and  that  his  residence  here  is  the  ruin  of  the  city.  Where- 
fore, it  has  seemed  good  to  us,  in  the  interests  of  the  truth,  to  write  to 
your  Holiness  to  bear  witness  to  the  soundness  of  his  doctrine,  and  to 
assure  you  that  it  has  been  the  salvation  of  the  city,  which  would  be 
blessed  indeed  if  all  its  inhabitants  observed  those  counsels  of  good 
conduct  and  of  peace  which  he  so  ceaselessly  urges  upon  them.  We  are 
more  than  250  in  number,  for  the  most  part  natives  of  Florence,  and 
intimately  conversant  with  him.  And  being  as  we  are  men  of  some 
education  and  experience,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  we  should  thus 
defend  and  uphold  one  who  is  an  alien  by  birth  unless  we  were  well 
assured  concerning  his  life  and  conduct.  We  see  plainly  that  the  hand 
of  God  is  with  him,  as  is  proved  by  the  number  of  conversions  that  he 
has  made  and  continually  makes.  And  lest  our  testimony  should  not  be 
held  sufficient,  we  have  procured  that  a  large  number  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  should  send  their  attestation  with  ours.  And  if  your  Holiness 
should  wish  it,  we  are  ready  to  send  up  not  merely  many  hundreds,  but 
thousands  of  names.  We  beseech  you,  therefore,  to  deign  to  revoke  the 
censures  passed  on  Fra  Girolamo,  and  to  second  his  work,  whereby  you 
will  acquire  merit  with  God,  and  will  do  a  thing  most  pleasing  to  this 
city,  and  especially  to  those  who  wish  to  live  a  good  life.  (Signed  by  all 
the  Brethren.) 

8///  July;  Certain  Florentine  Citizens  to  the  Pope  (to  accompany  the 


^  This  we  suppose  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  words :  "  Quibus  magis  venia 
danda  qiiain  graviore  aliquo  periculo  id  vindicare  erroris." 

2  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xlii.  This  is  undated,  but  was  obviously  written 
before,  yet  not  much  before,  9th  July.  {See  the  summary  of  the  Pratica  held  on 
that  day. ) 


4^4  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

above).!— We,  the  undersigned,  wish  to  add  our  testimony  to  what  the 
reverend  fathers  have  said.  It  is  the  undoubted  truth  that  the  teaching  of 
Fra  Hieronymo  has  been,  not  to  the  destruction  of  our  city,  but  to  its 
o-reat  profit  and  peace.  We  pray  your  HoHness  to  withdraw  the  censure 
conformably  to  the  humble  petition  of  the  fathers.  If  you  will  do  this 
(per  la  sua  solita  clemenzia)  we  are  certain  that  you  will  thereby  promote 
the  glory  of  God,  and  your  own  honour,  and  the  welfare  spiritual  and 
corporal  and  the  true  peace  and  union  of  this  city,  which  is  yours  as  it  is 
ours. 

On  9th  July  a  Pratica  was  held  relative  to  the  "  subscription," 
or  joint  letter,  summarised  above.^  It  was  deemed  unconstitutional 
for  private  citizens  to  address  themselves  to  any  foreign  power  con- 
cerning the  internal  affairs  of  the  city.  The  joint  letter,  it  might  be 
pretended,  came  under  this  standing  prohibition.  Hence  the  need 
of  caution,  and  of  a  debate  in  Council. 

One  speaker  (.Altoviti)  says  the  facts  and  circumstances  must  be 
looked  into,  and  if  a  fault  has  been  committed  it  must  be  punished. 
Another  (B.  Ridolfi)  declares  that  a  testimonial  in  defence  of  the  good 
name  of  a  fellow-citizen  does  not  fall  under  any  prohibition.  A  thiid 
(Gualterotti)  is  of  the  same  opinion,  but  thinks  that  if  it  be  found  that  an 
offence  has  been  committed  against  the  common  weal,  it  should  be 
punished.  Vespucci  thinks  no  good  will  come  of  allowing  such  a  list  of 
names  to  go  to  Rome.  It  will  reveal  our  dissensions  ;  those  Roman 
prelates  will  not  fail,  if  they  can,  to  make  money  out  of  it  ;  the  Pope  may 
perchance  excommunicate  all  the  signatories  ;  and  an  interdict  of  the 
whole  city— if  it  should  come— is  an  expensive  matter,  as  past  experience 
has  shown.  Let  the  Signory  keep  back  the  documents  ;  as  for  punish- 
ment, let  them  use  their  discretion.  G.  Mannelli  reminds  their  Lordships 
that  mischief  often  wears  a  fair  cloak  (queste  cose  sempre  si  covertano 
di  colore  giusto,  et  dipoi  hanno  altro  humore  dentro).  He  does  not  like 
the  subscription  at  all.  But  he  is  called  to  order  by  S.  Ridolfi,  who  says 
he  has  not  spoken  the  mind  of  his  pattchata,  which  is  that  the  Signory 
examine  the  documents  carefully,  and  act  accordingly. 

igfhjuly;  Becchi  to  the  Ten.^— If  your  lordships  cannot  persuade  his 
Paternity  to  consent  to  the  union  of  the  congregations,  or  if  the  Signory 
cannot  give  an  undertaking  that  within  two  months  Fra  G.  will  come  to 
Rome,  the  absolution  is  not  to  be  hoped  for.  But  if  the  city  will  do 
this,  then   neither  the  Pope  nor  the  Cardinals   of  the   commission   (of 

1  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  xliii.  It  appears,  from  the  evidence  given  at  the  trial  of 
Savonarola,  that  this  letter  was  never  sent.  It  was,  however,  signed  by  358 
persons,  whose  names  may  be  found  in  Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta,  pp.  514  sqrj. 

^  Lupi,  p.  28. 

i*  Gherardi,  ibid.  A  short  note  iroin  liracci  of  14th  July  {il/id.)  contains 
nothing  of  importance. 


TTIE  LONG  SILENCE  265 

reform)  are  disposed  to  withhold  it.  The  Si-nory  would  do  well  to  write 
to  the  Cardinal  of  Naples.  He  is  the  I'rotcctor  of  the  Order,  and  all 
defer  to  him. 

2\st  July;  The  Signory  to  Bracci.^— He  is  thanked  for  his  services, 
and  bidden  to  find  out  who  are  the  persons  that  oppose  the  petition  m 
favour  of  Savonarola. 

1st  Atio-ust;  Same  to  same.^— They  are  glad  to  hear  that  the  Pope  is 
so  favourably  disposed,  and  are  particularly  grateful  for  the  intercession 
of  Capaccio  and  Perugia,  who  are  to  be  warmly  thanked. 

2,rd  August;  Savonarola  to  Lodovico  Pittorio.^— After  some  very 
moderate  and  prudent  counsels  with  regard  to  fasting,  he  proceeds  to 
speak  of  his  prophecies.  To  certain  friars  who  have  questioned  him, 
Pittorio  is  to  reply  that  not  only  have  the  predictions  not  failed,  but  they 
are  being  fulfilled  ;  for  six  yeais  ago  he  warned  them  to  be  ready,  for 
that  many  of  them  would  die  (soon).  They  have  studied  the  Scriptures 
to  little  purpose  if  they  do  not  know  that  the  aftairs  of  Christ  and  His 
servants  are  not  to  be  judged  according  to  a  worldly  standard.  If  God 
thus  chastises  His  servants,  how  much  more  will  He  punish  the  wicked. 

Wi  August;  d'Este  to  Savonarola.''— Fra  Girolamo  had  recently 
written  to  him  to  strengthen  his  faith  in  the  prophecies.  The  Duke 
thanks  his  correspondent,  and  confesses  that  in  view  of  the  dilatoriness 
of  the  King  of  France,  he  has  begun  to  doubt  whether  Charles  will 
accomplish  any  great  matter  ;  but  this  doubt  is  in  nowise  contrary  to  his 
faith  in  Fra  G.,  for  he  understands  that  the  Friar  never  asserted 
absolutely  that  it  was  this  king  who  was  to  bring  about  the  events 
predicted.  But  if  Savonarola's  prediction  had  been  unconditional,  he 
would  have  been  prepared  to  believe  even  this  with  full  confidence 
(gagliardamente).  He  begs  Savonarola  to  open  his  mind  further  on  the 
subject,  assuring  him  of  his  readiness  to  believe  whatever  he  shall  say, 
and  that  he  will  keep  the  matter  absolutely  secret  and  confidential. 

13M  August;  Savonarola  to  Lodovico  Pittorio.®— Those  who  say 
that  our  flock  is  dispersed  are  either  misinformed  or  speak  with  malice. 
Our  fellow-citizens  have  shown  the  charity  and  esteem  they  bear  us  by 
putting  their  country  houses  at  the  disposal  of  our  young  men  (during 
the  plague),  and  as  a  measure  of  prudence  we  have  availed  ourselves  of 
their  hospitality.  As  for  our  excommunication,  I  should  esteem  it  a 
matter  much  more  censurable  were  I  to  purchase  an  absolution  ;  so  you 
may  see  what  liars  those  men  are  who  invent  such  reports.     We  have 

'  Marchese,  n.  8. 

"^  Marchese,  nn.  9,  10  (two  letters). 

^  Cappelli,  n.  118.  I'iltorio  was  at  this  time  chancellor  at  the  court  of 
Ferrara. 

•*  We  omit  several  letters  of  Suinenzi  and  Manfredi  which  concern  principally 
the  aftair  of  the  Medicean  conspiracy. 

^  Cappelli,  n.  120. 

•  Marchese,  p.  129. 


266  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

done  our  duty  in  the  matter ;  and  it  seems  that  the  Pope  is  well 
disposed,  were  it  not  that  some  powerful  adversary  stands  in  the  way. 
As  for  the  city,  its  affairs  will  show  whether  we  have  spoken  truly  or 
falsely.     Already  the  prophecies  are  in  great  measure  fulfilled. 

\^th  August;  Savonarola  to  his  brother,  Messer  Alberto.^— Our 
brother  Maurelio  (then  a  Dominican  at  S.  Marco)  is  well.  Our 
community  lives  in  great  joy,  and  leads  an  angelic  life.  The  young  men 
are  gone  to  the  country,  etc.  If  Rome  is  against  me,  it  is  against  Christ, 
and  contends  with  God.  Fear  not  ;  God  will  win.  Do  not  be  alarmed 
about  my  remaining  in  Florence.  I  am  here  to  console  the  afflicted. 
Many  have  begged  me  to  depart,  but  I  would  not  leave  my  little  flock. 
Incredible  is  the  joy  of  those  who  even  in  death  do  not  lose  their  faith, 
so  that  they  may  rather  be  said  to  sleep,  commending  their  souls  to 
God,  than  to  die. 

i6ih  August ;  Manfredi  to  d'Este.^ — I  have  heard  from  Rome  that 
Fra  G.  can  by  no  means  hope  to  obtain  the  absolution  sought  for 
on  his  behalf  by  the  Signory,  unless  he  will  obey  the  commands  of  his 
General,  and  that  there  is  reason  to  fear  lest  the  city  be  laid  under  an 
interdict.  I  wrote  to  him  to  this  effect.  He  replies  that  he  is  well 
informed  of  all  that  goes  on,  and  that  he  is  ready  to  defend  the  cause  of 
God,  or  rather  God  will  defend  His  own  cause.  As  men,  when  they 
undertake  some  work  desire  that  it  should  go  forward  and  prosper, 
•*  ad  omni  modo  "  {sic\  let  them  believe  that  God  has  the  same  care  for 
His  work.  We  shall  see,  he  says,  whether  God  or  man  is  more  powerful. 
He  would  not  allow  me  to  visit  him,  because  some  in  the  convent  have 
died  of  the  plague  and  another  is  sick.  We  shall  see  what  will  come 
from  Rome,  and  if  anything  happens  which  is  calculated  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  Friar,  I  am  sure  that  he  will  find  some  means  to  astonish  the 
folk  there,  and  elsewhere  too  (fara  obstupire  le  brigate  a  Roma,  et  altrove 
anche). 

2Zth  August;  Savonarola  to  Fra  Marcantonio  of  Ficino  (O.F.M).^ — 
Thanks  him  for  his  letter.  It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  have  the 
friendship  of  a  member  of  the  seraphic  Order,  and  of  a  distinguished 
professor  of  theology.  "Your  declaration  that  you  think  well  of  our 
affairs  is  a  sign  of  a  good  disposition  ;  for,  as  you  know,  faith  is  one  of 
the  chief  gifts  of  God,  and  it  is  acquired  rather  by  living  well  than  by 
disputing  subtly,  nor  have  we  been  able  to  bring  forward  any  stronger 
argument  on  behalf  of  what  we  have  uttered  than  to  urge  that  whosoever 
is  lax  and  tepid  (inaertus,  sic)  *  should  live  well  and  purge  his  heart  from 
all  sin,  and  then  he  will  at  last  receive  the  true  light  (illustrationem)  of 

1  Marchese,  p.  130. 
5  Cappelli,  n.  123. 

2  Cappelli,  n.  126. 

*  Perhaps  we  should  read  incerttts.  The  meaning  will  then  be :  If  a  man 
is  in  doubt  let  him  amend  his  life,  and  the  light  which  he  will  receive  will  clear 
up  his  doubfs. 


THE   LONG  SILENCE  267 

the  Lord.  Rut  when  the  things  (which  wc  have  foretold)  shall  have  come 
to  pass  they  will  bring  forth  not  faith  but  certitude."  As  for  what  men 
say  about  me,  I  care  nothing  at  all,  provided  only  that  God  may  be 
glorified,  and  His  faith  revive  in  the  hearts  of  men,  for  which  cause  I 
fight,  even  unto  death.  Pray  for  me,  and  may  we  ever  live  in  mutual 
charity. 

i()th  Au£^ist ;  Manfred!  to  d'Este.' — The  letter  concerns  the  con- 
spirators who  have  been  recently  put  to  death.  The  Duke  of  Milan 
had  interceded  for  the  conspirators,  and  had  incurred  the  reproach  of 
being  a  meddler.  D'Este  had  written  to  the  same  effect,  but  his  letter 
had  come  too  late.  Manfredi  had  kept  the  missive  in  his  pocket,  having 
previously  told  the  Signory  that  his  master  was  well  assured  that  they 
would  act  in  the  best  and  wisest  way  that  should  be  possible.  "Whereby 
your  Highness  has  acquired  a  much  better  reputation  for  discretion 
than  the  Duke  of  Milan."  These  popular  governments  need  to  be 
humoured. 

26M  September;  the  Signory  to  Caraffa.'' — With  many  compliments 
they  beg  him  to  intercede  with  the  Pope  for  Savonarola.  He  cannot 
confer  a  greater  favour  on  the  city. 

2Zth  September;  iT,fh  October;  yth  November;  \ith  Decetnber; 
The  Signory  to  Bracci.' — A  series  of  letters  urging  him  not  to  desist 
from  his  efforts  on  behalf  of  Fra  Girolamo. 

In  their  letter  of  13th  October  the  Signory  declare  their  conviction 
that  Fra  Hieronymo  will  have  "  done  everything,"  i.e.  all  that  has  been 
required  of  him,  or  whatever  Caraffa  has  recommended  that  he 
should  do.  These  words  refer,  no  doubt,  to  Savonarola's  letter  of 
the  same  date,  which  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  given  in  full.* 

Convent  of  S.  Mark, 
Florence,  13M  October  1497. 

To  the  Pope  for  Absolution. 

Most  Holy  Father, — I  kiss  the  feet  of  your  Holiness.  As  a 
child  grieving  at  having  incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  father  desires 
and  seeks  every  means  and  opportunity  of  appeasing  his  anger,  nor  can 
any  refusal  make  him  despair  of  regaining  his  former  affection,  since  it 
is  written  :  "Ask  and  ye  shall  receive,  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  to 
you";  so  I  also,  being  more  concerned  (sollicitus),  on  account  of  the 
favour  of  your  Holiness  having  been  withdrawn  from  me,  than  for  any 
other  misfortune  (jacturam),  fly  eagerly  to  your  feet,  begging  you  to  give 
ear  at  length  to  my  cries,  and  keep  me  no  longer  away  from  your  embrace. 
For  to  whom  shall  I  go,  if  not,  as  one  of  his  flock,  to  the  Shepherd  whose 


'  Cappelli,  n.  127.  '^  Murcliese,  n.  13.  *  Ibid.,  nn.  14-17. 

'  It  was  first  published  by  Ferretli  in  1898  (jQuarlo  Centoiario,  p.  83). 


268  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

voice  I  love  to  hear,  whose  blessing  I  implore,  whose  saving  presence 
I  ardently  desire?  I  would  go  at  once  and  cast  myself  at  your  feet, 
if  I  were  safe  on  the  journey  from  the  malice  and  plots  of  my  enemies. 
As  soon  as  I  can  do  so  without  risk  I  will  at  once  set  out,  and  I  wish 
with  all  my  heart  that  I  could  do  so  now,  in  order  that  I  might  at  last 
clear  myself  of  every  calumny. 

Meanwhile,  most  humbly  do  I  submit  in  all  things,  as  I  have  ever 
done,  to  your  authority,  and  if  through  any  want  of  judgment  or  in- 
advertence I  have  erred  in  anything,  I  humbly  ask  forgiveness.  For  you 
will  find  in  me  at  least  no  wilful  malice. 

Be  pleased,  therefore,  I  beseech  your  Holiness,  not  to  close  against 
me  the  fountain  of  your  kindness  and  clemency,  nor  spurn  one  whom  you 
would  find,  if  once  you  knew  him,  not  less  devoted  to  you  than  sincere, 
and  at  all  times  your  most  obedient  servant.  I  humbly  commend  myself 
to  your  Holiness.— Your  most  devoted  son  and  servant, 

Brother  Jerome  of  Ferrara, 
Of  the  Order  of  Preachers. 

Every  one,  it  may  be  presumed,  would  very  gladly  welcome  any 
scrap  of  evidence,  much  more  any  document  of  first-class  import- 
ance such  as  the  above,  which  might  help  to  place  the  conduct 
of  Savonarola  in  a  more  favourable  light  than  that  in  which  it 
has  been  commonly  regarded.  And  it  must  certainly  be  admitted 
that  the  letter  which  we  have  just  given  would  seem,  at  first  sight, 
to  prove  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt  that  his  dispositions 
were  those  of  perfect  submission  and  obedience.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  circumstances  of  the  case  are  such  as,  in  our  opinion, 
to  exclude  this  conclusion,  eminently  satisfactory  as  it  would  be 
if  only  it  were  true.  There  is  a  short  parable  in  S.  Matthew's 
Gospel  about  the  son  who,  being  bidden  to  go  and  work  in  his 
father's  vineyard,  replied :  "  I  go,  sir  "  ;  and  he  went  not.i  Even 
so  Era  Girolamo,  while  declaring  himself  ready  to  submit  to  the 
Pope  in  all  things,  absolutely  decUned  to  submit  in  regard  to  the 
particular  thing  that  was  demanded  of  him.  This  he  plainly  declared 
to  Manfredi  a  few  weeks  later,  and  still  more  emphatically  in  the 
sermon  which  he  preached  on  Sexagesima  Sunday  in  the  following 
year,  as  will  appear  in  due  course.  To  deny  that  Era  Girolamo, 
notwithstanding  his  letter  of  13th  October,  did  actually  disobey  the 
Pope,  is  to  disregard  his  own  reiterated  statements.  The  only 
defence  that  can  be  set  up  for  him  is  that  his  disobedience  was 
justified.  That  this  was  so  is  the  verdict  of  many  for  whose  con- 
victions we  have  a  sincere   respect;  but  we  trust  that  a  contrary 

^  Matt.  xxi.  30. 


THE   LONG   SILENCE  269 

opinion  may  be  expressed  without  offence.  Our  present  concern, 
however,  is  not  so  much  to  urge  our  own  individual  views,  which 
are  of  comparatively  little  concern  to  anybody,  as  to  set  forth  the 
whole  of  the  evidence  bearing  on  the  case  after  a  fuller  and  more 
systematic  fashion  than  has  hitherto  been  attempted  in  any  work 
accessible  to  the  ordinary  English  reader.  As  regards  Savonarola's 
letter  of  13th  October,  it  must  at  least  be  admitted  that  (assuming 
its  genuineness)  it  shows  that,  in  resisting  Alexander  VL,  he  was  not 
himself  conscious  of  any  want  of  true  loyalty  to  the  Holy  See.  Was 
he  right,  or  was  he  mistaken  ?  And,  if  he  was  mistaken,  was  his 
mistake  entirely  blameless?  These  are  the  questions  which  the 
reader  will  do  well  to  keep  in  mind. 

13M  November;  Manfredi  to  d'Este.' — The  newly  elected  Ten  are  all 
favourable  to  Fra  Girolamo,  and  are  all  men  of  position.  The  plague  is 
all  but  extinct. 

19///  November  J  Same  to  same.-— D'Este  has  incurred  some  odium  at 
Florence  on  account  of  certain  negotiations  of  his  with  the  Duke  of  Milan. 
Manfredi  thought  it  would  be  well  to  secure  the  good  offices  of  Savona- 
rola in  order  to  clear  up  any  misimderstanding,  at  the  same  time  warning 
him  to  proceed  with  great  discretion.*  Savonarola  has  commended  the 
action  of  the  Duke,  praising  him  for  his  fidelity  to  his  promises,  and  for 
his  prudence  in  keeping  the  peace  with  all  his  neighbours.  He  thinks, 
however,  that  it  would  be  no  bad  thing  for  the  Duke  to  keep  up  good 
relations  with  the  French,  so  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  his  honour 
and  interests  (quando  cum  honore  et  comodo  el  se  possa  fare) ;  alleging 
that  he  does  not  see  that  the  King  of  France  has  been  as  yet  rejected  by 
God.'*  Fra  Girolamo  also  mentioned  that  he  has  had  a  visit  from  a 
certain  Florentine  who  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Emperor  (homo  adoperato 
per  la  Maesta  dello  Imperatore  in  Italia).  This  man  tried  to  induce  him 
to  use  his  influence  with  his  fellow-citizens  to  persuade  them  to  join  the 
League.  The  Friar  answered  that  he  did  not  meddle  in  these  political 
matters,  and  that  the  Florentine  people  were  quite  capable  of  managing 
their  own  affairs  without  his  advice.  He  knew  very  well  that  this  man 
had  been  sent  in  order  to  sound  him,  and,  probably,  to  get  him  into 
trouble.  "  He  hopes  that  his  affairs  with  the  Pope  will  soon  be  arranged 
.  .  .  which,  if  it  comes  to  pass,  will  turn  to  his  great  praise  and  com- 

^  Cappclli,  n.  134. 

2  Ibid.,  n.  135. 

^  "Adducendomi  pero  dicto  Frate  che  cum  destro  modo  porgesse  questa 
justificatione  di  V.  E.  por  omni  bono  rispecto  a  quelle  persone  che  li  parcri 
necessaiio." 

*  "  Allegando  che  '1  non  vcdeva  che  el  Re  de  Franza  per  anche  fosse  reprobate 
da  Iddio." 


270  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

mendation,  and  the   more  so  because  he   has   not  yielded  to  the  Pope's 
demands." ' 

From  these  last  words  alone  it  would  be  fair  to  conclude  that  the 
expressions  of  perfect  submission  to  his  Holiness  which  are  contained 
in  the  newly-recovered  letter  of  Savonarola,  must  not  be  understood 
as  implying  any  readiness  to  yield  on  the  particular  points  at  issue. 
But,  in  fact,  the  much  stronger  language  used  by  Fra  Girolamo  in 
his  next  (and  last)  course  of  sermons  leaves  no  kind  of  doubt  on 
the  matter.  Of  these  sermons  a  somewhat  full  account  will  be  given 
in  the  next  two  chapters. 

2?>th  December;  Manfredi  to  d'Este.-— The  Pope  is  exhorting  the 
Florentines  to  drop  their  alliance  with  the  French  King,  who  is  advised 
by  his  own  counsellors  to  abandon  the  project  of  again  invading  Italy. 

2,0th  December;  Same  to  same." — Gives  a  list  of  the  Signory  appointed 
for  January  and  February.  They  are  all  men  of  ability  and  of  good 
family  (by  contrast  with  some  of  their  predecessors  in  office),  and  are 
nearly  all  attached  (afifezionati)  to  "our  Fra  Hieronymo." 

"  Our  Fra  Hieronymo  "  had,  meanwhile,  begun  to  show  signs  of 
his  intention  to  break  his  long  silence,  as  appears  from  his  action 
in  publicly  celebrating  Mass  and  administering  Holy  Communion 
on  Christmas  Day  (1497).  To  this  incident  we  must  recur  here- 
after. For  the  present,  we  conclude  with  a  summary  of  three 
letters  which  bring  upon  the  scene  a  new  ambassador  to  the  Papal 
Court,  Messer  Domenico  Bonsi,  despatched  to  Rome,  primarily,  as 
it  would  seem,  to  negotiate  for  the  restoration  of  Pisa,*  but  holding 
also  a  commission  to  agitate  for  the  absolution  of  Savonarola. 

c)th  January  1498  ;  The  Signory  to  Bonsi.^ — He  is  to  use  all  diligence 
to  obtain  the  absolution,  "integra  et  libera,"  of  Fra  Hieronymo.  In 
particular,  he  is  to  do  his  best  with  the  Cardinal  of  Naples  ;  and,  in 
general,  he  is  to  let  no  opportunity  escape  him  of  furthering  the  affair. 

^th  February ;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.^ — He  has  had  a  long  talk  with  the 
Bishop  of  Perugia  about  the  absolution.     Perugia  will  do  his  utmost  with 

^  "  Spera  sua  Paternita  che  presto  sara  acconzo  el  facto  suo  cum  el  Papa, 
trovandose  la  materia  ben  disposta  et  sua  Santita  inclinata  ad  farlo  ;  el  che 
succedendo  li  sera  di  gran  laude  et  comendatione,  eo  maxime  iton  se  aveitdo  voluto 
inclinare  ad  fare  quelle  cose  che  li  havea  ricerchate  sua  Satitith  chel  facctsse." 

'^  Cappelli,  n.  139. 

'  Ibid.,  n.  140. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  1 74. 
»  Gherardi,  p.  175. 

•  Ibid. 


THE   LONG  SILENCE  2Jt 

the  Pope,  and  Bonsi  has  urged  him  to  do  so,  alleging  "every  possible 
reason,"  etc. 

6///  February;  Same  to  same.— Perugia  reports  that  the  Pope  is 
"cold"  about  Fra  Hieronymo.     His  Holiness  will  see  me  to-morrow. 

8M  February;  Same  to  same.  —  Has  had  his  audience.  When  he 
wanted  to  speak  of  Fra  H.  the  Pope  stopped  him,  and  said  he  must  first 
have  an  answer  from  the  Signory  as  to  what  they  would  be  prepared  to 
do  if  Pisa  were  restored.  As  to  the  Friar,  the  case  was  very  serious,  as 
affecting  the  honour  of  the  Holy  See,  and  many  of  the  Cardinals  thought 
very  badly  of  his  not  having  respected  the  excommunication.  B.  replied 
by  insisting  on  the  excellent  qualities  and  the  good  works  of  Fra  H.,  etc. 

\2th  February;  Same  to  same.^— Has  done  his  best  with  the 
Cardinals,  especially  Napoli.  It  is  very  difficult  to  make  any  head. 
They  throw  all  responsibility  on  the  Pope  ;  and  the  Pope  says  that  the 
affair  of  Pisa  must  first  be  settled,  and  then  he  will  be  disposed  to  grant 
anything.^ 


^  Ibid.,  p.  176. 

'■'  In  plain  words  Alexander  was  quite  willing  that  Pisa  should  be  restored  as 
the  price  of  the  adhesion  of  Florence  to  the  League.  Fra  Girolamo's  affair  might 
be  settled  as  a  mere  incident  of  the  bargain. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SEPTUAGESIMA    I498 

CHRISTMAS  DAY,  1497,  saw  the  first  public  act  of  dis- 
obedience to  the  sentence  of  excommunication  which  Savona- 
rola allowed  himself.  His  public  celebration  of  Mass,  and  his  openly 
communicating  the  faithful  on  that  day,  naturally  produced  a  marked 
impression,  and  the  bold  act  was  regarded  with  disfavour  even  by 
some  of  his  friends.  He  did  it,  says  Nardi,  "  con  gran  maraviglia 
d'ognuno,  e  dispiacimento  non  piccolo  de'  suoi  divoti."  Landucci, 
who  does  not  mention  the  Christmas  celebration,  tells  us  in  his 
diary  how,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany,  the  Signory  went  to  S. 
Marco  to  make  their  offertory,  and  kissed  the  hands  of  Fra  Girolamo 
at  the  altar;  and  this  was  done,  he  adds,  "non  sanza  grande 
maraviglia  de'  piu  intendenti,  e  non  tanto  degli  avversari,  quanto 
degli  amici  del  Frate." 

The  Christmas  celebrations  having  prepared  the  way,  no  one 
could  be  surprised  that  Fra  Girolamo  should  again  resume  the  work 
of  preaching  during  the  penitential  season  which  soon  followed ;  and 
the  faithful  diligence  of  his  disciple  Ser  Lorenzo  Vivoli  has  preserved 
for  us  the  full  text  of  this  last  Lenten  course.  It  began,  according  to 
custom,  on  Septuagesima  Sunday,  which  fell  in  that  year  on  nth 
February,  and,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  made  by  the  Vicar-General 
to  prevent  this,  the  first  sermons  of  the  series  were  delivered  in  the 
Duomo. 

The  preacher  took  for  his  text  the  words :  "  Domine  quid 
multiplicati  sunt  qui  tribulant  me,"  etc. 

"  My  Lord  [he  begins]  whereas  I  am  but  dust  and  ashes,  I  would 
wish  this  morning  to  address  myself  in  the  first  place  to  Thy  Majesty. 
Thou  hast  set  me  afloat,  O  Lord,  upon  a  wide  sea,  and  I  no  longer  behold 
the  port.  I  cannot  turn  back  if  I  would,  and  I  would  not  if  I  could.  I 
cannot  because  it  is  not  Thy  will ;  and  I  would  not  because  it  is  not  Thy 

272 


SEPTUAGESIMA  1498  273 

will  ;  for  Thy  will  I  neither  can  nor  will  resist.  Where  Thou  hast  placed 
me,  there  I  am  content  to  be,  only  do  Thou,  I  beseech  Thee,  be  with  me." 
He  does  not  ask  for  silver  and  gold  but  for  light  :  "  Domine  fac  ut 
videam."  He  prays  for  the  light  of  reason,  for  the  light  of  faith,  and  also 
for  the  light  of  prophecy  (confortami  anchora  il  lume  sopranaturale  da 
conoscere  le  cose  future  et  occulte) ;  and  he  asks  this  to  the  end  that  he 
be  neither  himself  deceived  nor  a  deceiver  of  the  people.  He  prays,  too, 
that  God  would  now  commence  a  new  era  (un  nuovo  tempo),  and  that 
this  may  be  the  beginning  of  greater  things  than  He  has  yet  done  ;  and 
to  the  same  effect  he  invokes  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and  the  Saints. 

Then,  turning  to  the  people,  "good  news,"  he  assures  them, 
"  has  come  from  heaven.^  '  Fear  not,  ye  faint-hearted,  for  the  Lord 
is  with  you.'" 

"  Soldiers,  after  a  skirmish,  are  wont  to  hold  a  kind  of  review,  or  inspec- 
tion, for  which  they  refurbish  their  arms  and  accoutrements.  We,  after 
our  skirmish,  have  done  likewise  ;  we  have  held  our  review,  with  pro- 
cessions and  many  prayers  and  hymns  and  canticles  of  joy.  And  now, 
why  should  we  fear?  Have  I  not  repeatedly  told  you  that  we  have  to 
fight  and  to  overcome  ?  I  tell  you  we  shall  surely  overcome  ;  and  when 
our  undertaking  seems  to  be  entirely  frustrated,  then  will  it  arise  more 
glorious  than  ever.  I  tell  you  that  never  was  there  a  more  glorious  or 
happier  time  than  the  present ;  and  we  mean  to  do  great  things  and 
glorious  things,  with  God's  help." 

He  goes  on  to  describe  a  dialogue  that  he  has  lately  had  with 
"  human  wisdom,"  which  began  by  calling  him  a  fool,  and  professed  to 
convict  him  out  of  his  own  mouth,  for  he  had  applied  to  himself  the 
text,  "stultissimus  sum  virorum,"  etc.  He  admits  that  he  is  a  fool, 
but  declares  that  on  this  very  account  he  is  happy.  "  For  the  fool  is 
not  conscious  of  his  own  folly,  but  thinks  himself  the  wisest  fellow  011 
earth,  and  so  he  has  always  a  good  time."  He  reminds  "  Wisdom," 
however,  that  she  has  quoted  only  half  the  text,  which  runs  :  "  Visio 
quam  locutus  est  vir  cum  quo  est  Deus,  et  qui  Deo  secum  morante 
confortatus  ait :  Stultissimus  sum,"  etc.  "  Wisdom  "  had  reproached 
him  with  putting  his  trust  in  the  people.  He  answers  that  he  places 
it  not  in  the  people  but  in  God. 

But  some  have  a  scruple  about  the  excommunication.  He  will 
solve  this  scruple  without  entering  into  the  minutia;  of  Canon  Law 
(senza  canoni  e  senza  tanti  capitoli) ;  but  first  he  will  remind  them  how, 
years  ago,  he  foretold  that  he  should  have  to  contend  against  a  double 
power,  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual.  And  therefore  it  was  necessary 
for  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  that  the  spiritual  sword  should  be 

*  I.e.  as  appears  from  the  next  sermon,  in  answer  to  the  foregoing  prayer. 


274  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA. 

drawn.  It  is  because  our  teaching  has  led  men,  and  still  leads  them,  to  a 
good  life,  that  the  devil  has  stirred  up  against  us  so  many  persecutions. 
Moreover,  it  was  needful  that  the  wheat  should  be  separated  from  the 
chaff.  A  first  sifting  was  effected  by  our  preaching  ;  but  because  some 
of  the  "tepidi"  made  a  pretence  of  being  good,  God  has  sent  this  new 
winnowing-fan,  viz.  the  excommunication,  in  order  more  effectually  to 
separate  the  tepid  from  the  good.  "Now,"  he  proceeds,  "let  us  enquire 
into  the  question  of  its  validity. 

"  In  every  instrument  three  thing's  are  to  be  considered  ;  the  matter, 
the  form,  and  the  moving  power  (la  virtii).  Take,  for  instance,  a  saw. 
Its  matter  is  iron.  Its  form  is  the  shape  of  the  instrument,  with  teeth, 
handle,  etc.  Now,  if  the  workman  casts  away  his  saw  among  other  bits 
of  broken  iron,  it  becomes  like  them,  and  is  no  longer  effectively  a 
saw,  for  there  is  no  hand  to  move  it.  So  it  is  with  the  prince  ;  if 
he  be  not  guided  as  an  instrument  of  the  superior  agent,  i.e.  of  God, 
you  may  say  that  he  is  no  better  than  yourselves  (di'  alhora  che  'gli  e 
eguale  a  te)  ;  that  there  is  no  hand  to  move  him  ;  that  he  is  like  those 
broken  tools  which  are  all  equal  ;  and  you  may  tell  him  so.  And  if  he 
should  reply  :  '  I  hold  the  power,'  you  may  answer  :  '  This  is  not  true, 
because  you  are  moved  by  no  guiding  hand  ;  yoii  are  a  broken  toolj 
And  if  you  were  to  ask  me,  '  How  am  I  to  know  that  such  an  one  is  not 
moved  by  the  supreme  agent  ?'  I  should  say:  '  Consider  whether  he  acts  in 
opposition  to  the  wisdom  of  that  supreme  agent.'  And  because  that 
wisdom  loves  a  virtuous  life  and  the  common  weal,  as  often  as  you  see 
that  the  prince  acts  in  a  manner  destructive  of  these  things,  you  may  say 
at  once  :  'You  are  not  moved  by  the  supreme  agent,  and  therefore  you 
are  a  broken  tool.'  Hence  S.  Thomas  says  that  if  the  prince  should 
enact  a  law  which  is  contrary  to  virtue  and  the  conmion  weal,  the 
people  are  not  bound  to  observe  it.^ 

"  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  this  error  on  the  part  of  the  prince 
may  have  one  of  two  causes — his  own  malice,  or  the  evil  persuasions  of 
others.  But,  in  either  case,  the  saw  is  not  guided  by  the  hand  of  the 
artificer,  and  in  the  present  instance  I  assure  you  that  the  Pope's 
advisers  are  not  using  the  saw  well  with  this  excommunication,  and 
will  make  but  a  bungling  job  of  it  (non  segheranno  bene  a  questa  volta, 
e  non  faranno  buon  scanno).  For  what  is  their  object .?  Every  child 
knows  that  what  they  really  wish  is  to  do  away  with  a  virtuous  life, 
and  to  destroy  all  good  government  that  is  for  the  common  weal. 
No  sooner  does  the  excommunication  come  than  the  taverns  are  thrown 
open,  and  all  manner  of  vice  flourishes  (mano  a  taverne,  a  lascivie,  et  ad 
ogni  male  ;  et  il  ben  vivere  andava  per  terra).  It  needs  no  study  of  the 
Canon  Law,  but  only  a  little  common-sense,  to  see  with  what  intention 
the  saw  is  being  worked.      I  wonder  that  you  should  have  any  doubt 

^  Would  S.  Thomas  have  approved  of  an  appeal  to  a  popular  audience  as  to 
the  wisdom  or  unwisdom,  the  justice  or  injustice,  of  a  Papal  command  concern- 
ing the  internal  affairs  of  a  religious  Order  ?    We  take  leave  to  doubt  it. 


SEPTUAGESIMA  1498  275 

on  the  "^nb'cct,  and  I  tell  you  th.it  if  we  are  banned  on  earth  \vc  are 
blessed  in  heaven.' 

"  So  much  we  learn  from  natural  reason.  But  faith,  moreover,  teaches 
us  that  the  proper  aim  and  end  of  all  laws,  of  all  ceremonies,  of  all 
theology,  is  the  perfection  of  charity.  Accordingly,  whoso  commands 
what  is  contrary  to  charity,  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  let  him  be 
anathema,  let  him  be  excommunicate,  nay,  such  an  one  is  excommunicate 
of  God.  If  an  angel  were  to  give  such  a  command  (se  lo  dicesse  un 
angelo)  let  him  be  anathema.  .  .  .  Nay,  though  all  the  Saints,  and  even 
the  Virgin  Mary  herself,  were  to  do  so — which  is, as  I  have  said,  impossible, 
nor  v^ill  they  ever  do  it— let  them  be  anathema.  Tell  me,  then,  suppose 
one  sees  the  wolf  coming  to  devour  the  sheep,  and  beholds  the  destruc- 
tion of  souls  .  .  .  ought  he  not  to  lay  down  his  life  for  his  sheep?  And 
will  such  an  one  be  therefore  excommunicate  ?  Do  not  believe  it !  Ex- 
communicate is  he  who  acts  against  charity.  Does  it  then  seem  to  you 
that  I  ought  to  flee  ?  I  have  stood  firm  until  now,  and  I  tell  you  I  will 
continue  to  stand  firm.  Or  do  you  wish  that  I  should  abandon  my  sons, 
who  are  also  your  sons,  who  have  been  drawn  by  God  to  lead  a  virtuous 
life  under  the  shadow  of  my  protection  (sotto  I'ombra  mia)  ?  The  good 
shepherd  does  not  abandon  his  sheep,  but  lays  down  his  life  for  them  ; 
I  tell  you  that,  rather  than  abandon  them,  I  would  be  cut  into  a  thousand 
pieces. 

"You  say  to  me  :  'Bring  about  this  union,  enter  into  this  congrega- 
tion.' I  tell  you  I  will  never  do  it  ;  I  will  not  have  my  sons  relax  their 
mode  of  life,  for  this  were  contrary  to  charity."  ^  So,  too,  he  will  not 
leave  his  flock  to  go  to  Rome.  Nor  will  he  cease  from  preaching. 
"  Have  you  not  seen  that  since  my  preaching  ceased  morality  has 
declined  (il  ben  vivere  c  scemato),  and  vice  has  grown  bold,  and  that 
everything  was  beginning  to  fall  into  confusion?  Look  into  the  matter, 
and  see  if  you  can  find  any  law  or  canon,  or  council,  or  doctor,  or  bishop, 
who  says  the  contrary  to  what  I  have  told  you.  And  if  you  do, 
escotnutiicaio  sia,  let  him  (or  it)  be  excommunicate.  Nay,  if  there  were 
any  Pope  who  had  said  so — I  do  not  say  that  any  Pope  has  said  so — let 
him  be  anathema. 

"  But  some  one  says  :  '  O  Brother,  do  you  really  believe  that  this 
excommunication  is  not  valid  ?'— Most  certainly  it  is  not.  '  But  who  has 
told  you  so?'— God  has  told  me  so.     Mind  what  I  say  :  God  Himself  has 


1  The  recrudescence  of  vice,  of  which  Savonarola  speaks,  was  a  terrible  evil. 
But  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  authority  which  (whatever  his  own  sentiments  may 
have  been)  his  words  undoubtedly  tended  to  promote,  might  well  be  regarded  as 
in  the  long  run  an  even  greater  evil. 

2  A  recent  writer  asserts  that  Savonarola  "had  only  been  commanded,  under 
pain  of  excommunication,  not  to  put  obstacles  into  the  way  of  the  union,"  and 
that  "he  deemed  it  best  to  remain  altogether  passive"  in  the  matter,  and  "did 
not  put  any  olistacle  in  the  way  of  it."  We  do  not  see  how  these  statements  can 
be  reconciled  with  the  Friar's  own  words. 


276  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

told  me  so.  *  O  Brother,  if  your  God  has  told  you  that  it  is  invalid,  our 
God  has  told  us  that  it  is  valid.  We  say  that  Christ  is  with  us.' — Nay, 
I  will  prove  to  you  that  Christ  is  with  us,  and  that  He  stands  rather  with 
those  who  are  excommunicated,  as  we  have  been,  than  with  those  who, 
like  you,  declare  that  you  are  blessed.  In  the  days  of  our  Lord  an  edict 
was  passed  that  whoever  confessed  the  name  of  Christ  should  be 
excommunicate  and  expelled  from  the  synagogue.  I,  for  my  part,  wish 
to  be  with  Christ,  and  to  confess  Him,  and  to  find  myself  in  the  company 
of  such  outcasts.  '  But,  Brother,  many  good  men  are  against  you.' — I 
answer  that  not  all  those  who  seem  good  are  so  indeed."  He  bids  them 
consider  who  they  are  that  most  actively  oppose  him.  They  are  those 
whose  conduct  is  scandalous.  And  who  are  they  that  favour  his  work  ? 
They  are  those  whose  whole  course  of  life  is  virtuous.  On  which  side, 
then,  will  the  waverers  choose  to  place  themselves  ?  If  on  the  side  of  the 
wicked,  they  declare  their  own  wickedness.  "  For  my  part,  I  will  stand 
on  the  side  of  the  good.  And  if  one  cannot  do  what  is  right  without 
being  excommunicate,  then  I  will  take  my  stand  with  the  excom- 
municate." The  waverers  are  exhorted  to  keep  constantly  in  mind  the 
nefarious  purposes  for  which  the  sentence  has  been  procured  ;  if  they  are 
sincere  they  will  know  what  to  do.  If  they  do  not  see  the  case  as 
clearly  as  he  does,  let  them  pray  for  light,  and  let  them  examine  whether 
perchance  it  is  some  subtle  pride  (qualche  sottile  superbia)  which  blinds 
them.*  Nor  can  any  one  be  excused  from  fault  if,  by  reason  of  his 
scruples,  he  should  elect  to  remain  neutral.  To  such  he  says  :  "  Do  you 
wish  me  to  speak  the  truth  .''  You  have  opposed  God,  because,  if  every 
one  had  been  like  you,  the  city  and  'il  ben  vivere'  would  have  been 
ruined. 

"  Now  I  have  a  piece  of  news  for  you  which  I  have  on  the  authority 
of  a  man  of  position,  and  well  worthy  of  credit.  He  tells  me  that  while 
some  one  was  conversing  with  a  certain  '  gran  maestro '  in  Rome, 
perhaps  the  greatest  of  them  all  {i.e.  the  Pope],  this  great  personage 
declared  that  all  who  had  spoken  to  him  against  the  Friar  appeared  to 
be  men  of  evil  life,  while  all  those  who  spoke  in  his  favour  seemed 
to  be  good  men. 

"  I  tell  you  that  whoso  opposes  this  work  opposes  Christ.  .  .  .  Under- 
stand me  well,  O  Rome  !  Whoso  opposes  this  work  opposes  Christ. 
O  Italy !  Whoso  opposes  this  work  opposes  Christ.  O  Christian 
people  !  If  you  oppose  it  you  are  fighting  against  Christ,  and  not 
against  the  Friar.  If  you  say  that  the  priests  of  the  Church  are 
gathered  together  against  me,  I  reply  that  this  has  come  to  pass 
that  the  prophecies  might  be  fulfilled,  even  as  in  our  Lord's  Passion 
many  things  were  done  that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled.  In  this, 
your  hour,  you  make  me  perforce  a  prophet ;  for  you  know  well  that  long 
ago,  and  repeatedly,  I  foretold  the  opposition  of  the  priesthood  and 
of  the  wicked. 

*  Was  it,  perhaps,  some  subtle  pride  which  blinded  Savonarola  himself? 


SEPTUAGESIMA  1498  277 

"And  I  tell  you  that  a  new  time  is  coming  ;  and  great  wars  are  at 
hand  .  .  .  and  we  must  sustain  a  more  severe  contest  than  that  in  which 
we  are  now  engaged.  O  Lord,  I  do  not  ask  for  peace  ;  War!  War! 
War  !  is  my  cry.  War,  I  mean,  with  the  devil  ;  for  us  it  is  enough  to 
be  at  peace  with  Christ.  As  for  the  excommunication,  which  is  said  by 
some  to  be  null  in  the  sight  of  God,  but  externally  binding,  it  is  enough 
for  me  that  I  am  not  bound  in  the  sight  of  Christ  (da  Christo),  and  that 
He  should  bless  me.  O  my  Lord,  I  turn  to  Thee  and  1  say :  If  ever  I 
should  seek  absolution  from  this  excommunication,  send  7ne  to  Hell  I  I 
should  fear  to  commit  a  mortal  sin  were  I  to  seek  absolution.' 

"As  for  those  who  fear  lest  they  too  should  incur  excommunication 
by  coming  to  hear  my  sermons,  I  ask  :  Is  it  a  sin  to  preach  ?  Is 
preaching  a  crime?  If  the  author  of  the  excommunication  were  to  say 
so,  he  would  contradict  the  Gospel.^  Oh,  but  you  say  :  '  I  mean  because  of 
the  disobedience.' — And  I  say  that  if  the  law  were  observed  which 
forbids  that  any  one  be  made  a  Doctor  of  Divinity  or  a  Canon  without 
sufficient  learning,  there  would  not  be  so  much  ignornnce  among  us."  He 
concludes  this  part  of  the  sermon  by  inviting  "  you,  my  priests,  and  I  call 
those  'mine'  who  wish  to  lead  a  good  life,"  to  attend  at  S.  Mark's  on 
the  following  Thursday  after  Vespers,  when  he  will  give  them  "  una 
bella  lettione,"  and  will  instruct  them  as  to  their  duty  under  present 
circumstances. 

Then  he  goes  on  to  speak  of  certain  friars  who  will  not  absolve 
those  who  come  to  hear  him.  "  Would  you  like  me  to  tell  you 
who  will  absolve  you  ?  Well,  no,  it  is  better  that  I  should  say 
nothing  about  it,  I  will  only  say — just  do  like  this." — "  Here  let 
the  reader  observe,"  says  honest  Vivoli,  in  a  parenthetical  note, 
"that  the  preacher  said  just  nothing  at  all,  but  jingled  his  keys 
one  against  the  other,  whereby  every  one  understood  his  meaning 
to  be  'Give  them  money,  and  they  will  absolve  you.'"^ 

*  "  O  Signor  mio,  io  mi  volgo  a  te,  e  si  ti  dico,  che  sHo  mi  fo  mat  assohere  da 
questa  escomunica,  MANDAMi  IN  i.NFERXO  !  Io  ne  farei  scropolo  di  peccato  mortale 
s'io  mi  facessi  assolvere"  (/'/-(?a'/c/^('  sopra  t Esodo  :  Venice,  1540,  f.  12).  These 
words  have,  we  must  confess,  caused  us  some  misgivings  as  to  the  genuineness  of 
the  letter  "pro  absolutione  "  quoted  in  the  last  chapter.  It  must,  however,  he 
remembered  that  the  words  of  the  title  "pro  absolutione"  are  not  Savonarola's 
own. 

2  Savonarola  must  have  known  well  that  he  had  not  been,  and  never  would 
have  been,  censured  for  preaching  the  Gospel,  or  for  rebuking  vice  as  such.  Again, 
preaching  is  a  good  work,  yet  one  that  needs  an  ecclesiastical  license  or  faculty. 
According  to  his  principles  no  such  faculty  would  be  needed. 

3  No  one,  we  trust,  among  our  non-Catholic  readers  will  be  so  foolish  as  to 
infer  from  this  passage  that  the  sale  of  absolutions  is  part  of  the  Catholic  system. 
If  there  were  priests  in  Fra  Girolamo's  time  who  were  ready  to  perpetrate  this 
wickedness,  we  have  here  only  an  illustration  of  tha  old  adage:  "  Corruptio 
optinii  pessima." 


278  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROTA 

"Would  you  like  me  also  to  give  you  a  piece  of  good  advice  whereby 
you  may  cleanse  your  whole  territory?  Turn  them  out!  (Levategli 
via  !)  '  O  Brother,  you  arc  speaking  too  plainly  (tu  tocchi  troppo  il  vivo).'" 
He  hastens,  however,  to  explain  that  he  speaks  only  of  bad  priests,  not 
of  the  good.^  There  will  be  plenty  of  confessors  to  supply  their  needs  ; 
but  let  them  go  to  confession  without  delay,  and  let  them  thank  God 
who  has  delivered  them  from  tepidity,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  hands  of  bad 
confessors.  Let  them  remember  how,  in  1478,  in  the  days  of  the  con- 
spiracy of  the  Pazzi  (when  the  Archbishop  of  Florence  was  murdered, 
and  the  city  laid  under  interdict),  there  were  plenty  of  priests  who  said 
Mass  and  administered  the  Sacraments.  Were  they  worse  off  now  than 
then  ?  "I  have  not  murdered  an  Archbishop,  or  a  priest,  or  any  one 
else."  It  is  objected  that  in  those  days  the  welfare  of  the  government 
was  at  issue.  And  now  the  government  of  Christ  and  the  faith  of 
Christ,  and  Christian  morality  are  at  stake. 

He  next  appeals  to  his  prophetical  light  as  confirming  the 
invalidity  of  the  sentence.     Some  one  objects  : — 

" '  Brother,  I  don't  believe  you  ;  you  have  worked  no  miracles,  that  I 
should  be  bound  to  believe  you  against  the  Church.' — What  will  you 
have  (Fa  tu)?"  he  replies.  "It  has  not  yet  pleased  our  Lord  to  grant 
a  miracle  (fare  altretanti).  '  But  you  said  that  the  excommunication 
would  be  borne  aloft  on  the  point  of  a  lance '  (i.e.  in  triumph,  which  was 
certainly  not  the  fashion  in  which  Camerino,  or  possibly  his  substitute, 
brought  it). — I  tell  you  that  not  everything  has  yet  come  to  pass.  .  .  . 
But  if  you  have  eyes,  you  must  have  seen  that  many  signs  have  followed. 
You  have  seen  that  in  Rome  07ie  has  lost  his  son?  and  to  one  one  thing 
has  happened,  to  another  another  thing ;  and  you  have  seen  who 
has  died  here,  and  I  could  tell  you,  an  I  would,  %vho  is  in  hell.  .  .  :'  If 
everything  had  come  to  pass,  you  would  have  seen  everything.  You 
have  seen  a  part,  because  a  part  has  come  to  pass. 

"'But  we  thought  that  you  were  now  going  to  turn  the  key.'* — It  is 


^  Again  we  may  venture  to  express  the  doubt  whether  S.  Thomas,  for  instance 
(whose  teaching  Savonarola  is  declared  to  have  so  faithfully  followed),  would  have 
sanctioned  an  irresponsible  appeal  of  ihis  sort  to  a  kind  of  ecclesiastical  lynch  law. 

-  The  allusion  is,  of  course,  to  the  Pope  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Gandia. 
The  reader  must  judge  whether  or  no  these  words  were  needlessly  provocative. 

3  Some  think  that  he  here  alludes  to  Bernardo  del  Nero.  We  are  loth  to 
believe  this  ;  and  yet  the  mention  of  processi  immediately  afterwards  seems  to 
point  to  one  who  has  died  at  the  hands  of  justice. 

*  I.e.  to  open  the  casket  of  hidden  truth  ;  to  speak  plainly  on  certain  matters 
on  which  he  had  hitherto  been  silent.  What  this  "turning  of  the  key"  more 
particularly  signified  will  appear  from  the  dcposilions  at  the  trial,  and  froin 
other  documents  to  be  hereafter  i|uuted. 


SEPTUAGESIMA  1498  279 

not  yet  time.  Heretofore  we  have  drawn  forth  only  one  of  these  five 
stones  that  David  carried  ;  but  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  shall 
produce  the  others.  Vou  have  not  yet  constrained  me  to  work  a  tniracle 
(Tu  non  nV  hai  anchora  constretto  al  miracolo).  When  He  shall  be 
constrained,^  God  will  open  His  hand  according  as  His  honour  shall 
require.  But  if  you  would  reason  well,  you  would  see  that  you  have 
signs  enough."  The  signs  are  as  follows,  (i)  Their  deliverance  from 
many  dangers.  "The  Emperor  came — and  took  himself  off.  Your 
enemy  (Piero)  stood  at  your  gates — and  took  himself  off.  And  although 
you  have  lost  Pisa,  it  was  not  by  way  of  war.  You  Florentines  are 
much  afraid  of  war.  I  tell  you  not  to  be  afraid.  ...  If  all  Italy  should 
fall  upon  you,  we  will  stay  shut  up  in  our  cells,  and  will  chase  away  the 
enemy,  and  the  angels  will  fight  for  us."  (2)  The  predictions  have  come 
true  so  far.  (3)  His  teaching  has  produced  good  fruits,  which  have  grown 
in  spite  of  contradiction.  On  which  side,  then,  will  they  range  them- 
selves ? 

One  reflection,  among  many  which  are  suggested  by  the  perusal 
of  this  sermon  may  be  here  set  down.  Much  has  been  heard,  of 
late,  about  lawlessness  in  the  Church  of  England.  With  every  dis- 
position to  appreciate  at  their  full  value  the  moral  reforms  brought 
about  by  Savonarola,  we  cannot  help  feeling  that,  if  ultimate  issues 
are  to  be  looked  to,  rather  than  immediate  results,  the  sermon 
preached  on  Septuagesima  Sunday  1498,  in  the  Duomo  of  Florence, 
was  calculated  to  promote  lawlessness,  or  at  least  insubordination, 
in  the  Church  Catholic.  The  appeal  to  public  opinion  as  against 
authority  in  disciplinary  matters  appears  to  us  to  be  closely  allied,  in 
principle,  to  the  appeal  to  private  judgment. 

That  his  words  on  this  occasion  were  no  hasty  utterances,  forced 
from  him  by  some  sudden  gust  of  passion,  is  made  abundantly  clear 
by  his  next  sermon,  that  of  Sexagesima  Sunday,  in  which  he 
commences  by  resuming,  in  considerable  detail,  what  he  had  said  on 
the  former  occasion.  His  prayer  (so  he  reminds  his  hearers)  had 
been,  not  for  a  speedy  return  to  the  port  of  peace  and  security,  but 
for  light,  "  che  non  ingannassimo  et  non  fussimo  ingannati  "  ;  for 
the  light  of  reason  and  the  light  of  faith,  and  also  for  the  light  of 
prophecy,  "che  noi  intendessimo  le  cose  future  per  salute  del 
popolo."  He  had  prayed  also  that  God  would  put  forth  his  hand  to 
accomplish  new  things,  and  great  things  ;  and  the  divine  response 
to  his  prayer  had  been  :  "  Nolite  timere  pusillanimes,  Domiiius  enim 
vobiscum  est " — "  Fear  not,  ye  faint-hearted,  for  the  Lord  is  with  you." 

1  "  Quando  sa/a  constretto."  But  the  context  seems  to  require  "  quando  iaro 
constretto" — "  when  I  shall  be  constrained." 


28o  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Once  more  he  reminds  them  that  the  excommunication  has  come 
"that  the  prophecies  might  be  fulfilled,"  and  also  for  the  more 
thorough  sifting  of  the  good  from  the  bad.  And  then  again  once 
more  he  sets  forth  the  reasons  for  believing  it  to  be  invalid.  After 
this  preface  the  preacher  proceeds  to  assert  a  bolder  proposition 
than  any  he  had  yet  advanced. 

He  is  not  going  to  preach  [he  says],  but  once  more  to  talk  quietly 
with  them  ;  and  he  undertakes  to  prove  "  that  whoever  obstiriately 
maintains  the  validity  of  the  exconimunication  is  a  heretic ;  and  there- 
fore I  tell  you  that  if  such  an  one  be  a  priest  he  has  forfeited  his  benefice, 
supposing  him  to  have  one  (ha  perso  il  beneficio,  se  h  parrochiano) ;  you 
cannot  receive  Communion  at  his  hands,  nor  hold  any  intercourse 
(impacciarti)  with  him,  and  therefore  you  must  expel  such  persons 
from  the  city  (bisogna  cacciarli  dalla  cittk).  For  Christians  ought  not 
to  hold  intercourse  with  heretics,  according  to  the  words  of  S.  John 
about  a  heretic  :  *  Non  dixeritis  illi  :  Ave.' 

"O  Brother,"  the  objector  is  made  to  say,  "don't  touch  on  this  point." 
"  I  tell  you,"  is  the  reply,  "  that  now  it  is  necessary  to  cast  the  button 
from  the  foil  (far  la  guerra  a  ferri  puliti),  that  now  the  whole  truth  must 
be  declared." 

Having  spoken  of  priests,  the  preacher  takes  occasion  to  say  a 
word  of  advice  to  those  mothers  who  have  sons  destined  for  the  priest- 
hood. Any  man  who  desires  a  benefice,  and  the  cure  of  souls,  even 
though  he  were  an  angel,  is  proud.  "  You  think  your  son  is  a  good 
young  man  .  .  .  but,  if  he  desires  a  benefice,  with  cure  of  souls,  he  is 
a  devil  ih  un  diavolo).  He  ought  to  wait  till  he  is  promoted,  not  to 
seek  promotion."  This  is  what  he  told  the  priests  who  came  to  his 
conference  on  Thursday  last,  and  he  added  that  the  hailstorms  and  the 
pestilence  of  the  preceding  year  had  been  chastisements  sent  on  account 
of  bad  priests. 

Lest  any  one  should  doubt  his  orthodoxy,  he  submits  all  that  he  has 
to  say  to  the  judgment  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church  ;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  reminds  them  that  every  man,  even  the  Pope,  can  err.  It 
is  mere  folly  to  say  (or,  as  he  phrases  it,  "  You  are  a  fool  if  you  say")  that 
a  Pope  cannot  err.  "You  say:  'Yes,  as  man,  not  as  Pope.'  But  I  tell 
you  that  Popes  can  err  even  in  these  processes  and  sentences  of 
theirs."  His  hearers  must  be  aware  how  often  one  Pope  has  set  aside 
the  ordinances  of  another  ;  and  how  many  contrary  opinions  different 
Popes  have  expressed.  In  such  cases,  either  both  have  erred,  or 
at  least  one.* 

'  Again  we  cannot  help  asking  :  Is  this  the  language  of  loyalty  ?  Every 
Catholic  knows  that  Papal  infallibility  has  its  specific  limitations,  and  that  it  is 
nowise  concerned  with  such  matters  as  an  individual  penal  sentence.  But  to 
dwell,  in  a  sermon  ad  poptdum,  on  the  real  or  supposed  blunders  of  successive 
Popes,  hardly  tends  to  promote  popular  reverence  for  the  Holy  See, 


SEPTUAGESIMA  1498  281 

Then  comes  the  long  retrospect  of  his  dealings  with  Alexander 
VI.,  to  which  we  have  referred  in  a  former  chapter,  and  which  need 
not  be  reproduced  here.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  select  a  few 
characteristic  passages. 

The  Pope's  action  with  regard  to  the  Congregation  of  S.  Marco  is 
like  that  of  the  worthy  Podestk  of  Brescia,  who  always  agreed  with  the 
last  speaker.  His  proceedings  resemble  those  of  a  chess  player  who  is 
hard  pressed,  and  who  moves  his  king  backwards  and  forwards,  now 
here,  now  there,  to  keep  him  out  of  check.  When  the  Pope  first  forbade 
him  to  preach  (in  1495),  he  answered  to  the  effect  that  his  Holiness  had 
been  deceived.  But  when  his  representations  were  not  listened  to,  he 
continued  to  preach  freely.  (It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Savonarola  makes 
no  reference  here  to  the  supposed  permission  to  preach  obtained  for 
him— as  is  alleged — by  Carafifa.)  "And  this  was  the  occasion  on  which 
I  came  up  here  and  said  that  /  was  not  commissioned  to  preach  by  any 
man  in  this  world,  nor  by  any  lord,  but  by  Him  who  is  Lord  of  Lords,  and 
by  the  Holy  Trinity."' 

As  for  the  machinations  of  his  enemies,  they  are  directed  not 
against  himself,  but  against  the  welfare  of  the  city.  "You,  my  fellow- 
citizens,  you  are  'the  Friar,'  i.e.  it  is  you,  not  me,  whom  they  attack." 

His  doctrine  is  sound  and  salutary.  It  is  in  conformity  with  Holy 
Scripture,  and  with  the  principles  of  philosophy.  It  has  brought  peace 
to  the  city,  and  had  resulted  in  the  abolition  of  the  sport  of  stone- 
throwing  (the  favourite  pastime  of  the  Florentine  youth)  and  other 
worse  evils  ;  all  of  which  have  begun  to  revive  since  he  ceased  to  preach. 
Parents  forsooth  have  a  scruple  about  letting  their  children  come  to  hear 
his  sermons.     But  they  let  them  go  out  at  night,  and  ask  no  questions. 

But  why  cannot  he  let  some  one  else  preach  in  his  stead  ?  He 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  do  so,  if  there  were  any  one  capable  of  under- 
taking the  task.     But  no  one  is  to  be  found. 

Coming  back  to  his  original  proposition,  he  affirms  once  more 
that  whosoever  obstinately  maintains  the  validity  of  the  sentence  is 
a  heretic. 

"Go  now,  and  write  this  to  Rome!  You  write  nothing  but  lies; 
this  time  write  the  truth.  Men  have  now  become  afraid  to  preach  the 
truth.  Preachers  are  become  dependents  and  retainers  of  great  lords, 
and  flatter  them  accordingly.  It  was  not  always  so.  S.  Paul  reproved 
S.  Peter.  And  if  it  be  said:  'Where  is  S.  Paul  now?'  it  may  be 
answered:  'Where  is  S.  Peter  now?'     The  proportion  at  any  rate  is 


•  We  have  been  found  fault  with  for  saying  that  Savonarola  put  forward  a 
claim  to  a  special  divine  mission  which  made  him  independent  of  the  hierarchical 
jurisdiction  of  the  Church.  This  appears  to  us  to  be  the  practical  purport  uf  tht? 
words  quoted  above. 


282  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

kept.  Or  perchance  it  is  even  reversed.  You,  a  layman,  in  reproving 
a  priest,  may  be  reproving  one  who  is  your  inferior,  because  it  may  be 
that  you  have  more  grace  than  he." 

But  it  is  objected  that  he  has  himself  written  to  seek  absolution. 
"Certainly  not  of  my  own  accord  (non  io  gia  per  me).'  To  be  sure, 
they  wanted  me  to  write,  acknowledging  that  I  had  been  in  error.  I 
would  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  ...  It  is  true  that  I  wrote  that  for  the 
avoidance  of  scandal  it  would  be  well  that  the  excommunication  should 
be  withdrawn,  but  that  is  all. 

"Our  enemies  are  like  a  night-walker  bent  on  mischief,  who,  seeing 
a  lighted  torch  approaching,  and  fearing  to  be  recognised,  cries  out : 
'  Put  out  that  light.'  But  I  tell  you,  blow  as  hard  as  you  like,  you  will 
not  be  able  to  put  out  this  light." 

He  concludes  by  inviting  them  to  prepare  for  this  "  Pasqua  " 
which  they  call  the  Carnival.  He  would  have  it  to  be  a  real 
"  Pasqua,"  at  which  every  one  should  confess  and  communicate, 
and  organise  a  triumphant  celebration  for  the  honour  of  Christ. 

The  Quinquagesima  Sermon  has  one  feature  which  distinguishes 
it  from  its  two  immediate  predecessors.  The  application  of  the 
words  of  Holy  Scripture  is  more  continuous  and  more  pointed. 
The  passage  about  "  the  idols  of  the  nations  "  is  especially  powerful, 
as  the  reader  may  divine  even  from  the  fragments  of  it  which  are  all 
that  can  here  be  given. 

After  the  usual  repetition  of  the  chief  points  of  the  previous  dis- 
course, Fra  Girolamo,  who  had  hitherto  held  his  audience  in  suspense 
as  to  what  book  of  Holy  Scripture  he  was  going  to  choose  for  ex- 
position in  this  series  of  sermons,  informs  them  that  to-day  he  is 
going  to  preach  on  the  Psalm,  "  In  exitu  Israel." 

"'But,  Father,  won't  you  begin  to  expound  the  book  to-day?  Have 
you  not  chosen  it  yet?' — Oh  yes,  I  have  chosen  it;  but  to-day  I  am 
going  to  speak  about  this  Psalm.  And  because  we  have  been  delivered 
out  of  Egypt,  we  will  sing  'Alleluia.'  'But,  Father,  the  Church  does  not 
sing  "Alleluia"  at  this  season.' — Nevertheless,  we  will  sing  'Alleluia'  to- 
day. We  shall  pass  the  Red  Sea,  and  Pharaoh  will  have  no  power  to 
hurt  us.^ 

"Jacob  went  forth  from  a  barbarous  people.  Barbarians  are  those 
who  cannot  speak  Latin  or  Greek  or  Hebrew.  But  God's  barbarians 
are  those  who  cannot  speak  the  language  of  Christ.     'Dii  gentium  .  .  . 

^  Perhaps  more  literally  :   "Not  I ;  at  least  not  of  my  own  accord." 

*  "El   Frate   perseverava   in    isparlare   contro   al    Pontefice,"  says    Parenti, 

"chiamandolo  Pharaone ;  e  per  simili  altri  disonesti  nomi "  (Ranke,  Historisck- 

biographische  Studien,  p.  296^. 


SEPTUAGESIMA  1498  ^83 

OS  habent  et  non  loquentur.'  These  tepidi  have  mouths,  but  they  can't 
speak  (the  language  of  Christ) :  they  howl,  and  bark,  and  gibber, 
but  they  don't  know  how  to  talk  aright.  'Aures  habent  et  non  audient.' 
They  have  ears,  but  they  don't  use  them  to  listen  to  those  sermons 
against  which  they  are  always  talking.  Why  do  they  contradict  what 
they  haven't  heard  ?  But  can  they  not  at  least  perceive  the  sweet 
odour  of  a  good  life?  No  :  '  Nares  habent  et  non  odorabunt.'  Again  : 
'  Manus  habent  et  non  palpabunt.'  They  have  hands,  but  they  perform 
no  good  works.  I  have  said  that  you  are  idols.  An  idol  must  be 
pegged  to  the  ground  to  hold  him  firm.  So  you  are  just  pegged  down 
(inchiodati)  to  that  earth  for  which  alone  you  care. 

'"But,  Father,  don't  you  see  that  the  numbers  (of  your  hearers)  are 
growing  smaller  ? '—Yes,  and  they  will  grow  smaller  still  under  the 
vvinnowing-fan  of  God.  'But  the  e.xcommunication  ?'— Oh,  I  tell  you 
these  excommunications  are  cheap  to-day  ;  any  man  may  have  whom  he 
will  e.\communicated  for  a  few  shillings  (per  quattro  lire).  O  religious  I 
O  Rome  !  O  Italy  !— nay,  to  all  the  world  I  cry  :  Come  here  and  listen. 
Either  this  thing  is  of  God,  or  it  is  not.  If  it  is  of  God  you  cannot 
prevail.  If  it  be  not  of  God  it  will  fail  of  itself.  Why,  then,  all  this 
opposition  ?  O  Rome,  it  is  hard  for  you  to  kick  against  the  goad.  O 
Rome,  and  ye  prelates  who  oppose  me,  I  warn  you  that  if  this  thing  is 
of  God  you  will  not  be  able  to  destroy  it,  but  it  will  cast  down  your 
walls.  O  wicked  citizens,  you  shall  be  crushed  under  this  weight,  and 
when  you  think  to  have  stamped  out  this  thing  it  will  rise  again  more 
full  of  life  than  ever." 

The  preacher  then  proceeded  to  make  this  solemn  appeal : — 

"O  Lord,  I  would  that  Thou  shouldst  make  haste.  We  can  do  no 
more.  And  that  God  may  be  the  more  ready  to  hasten  matters,  I 
propose,  dearly  beloved,  that  on  the  Carnival  day  we  should  all  join  in 
earnest  prayer.  And  I  will  say  Mass,  and  I  will  take  the  Sacrament  in 
my  hands,  and  let  every  one  earnestly  pray  that  if  this  thing  proceeds 
from  me,  and  if  I  am  deceiving  myself,  Christ  luould  send  upon  me  fire 
from  heave)!,  which  may  then  atid  there  swallow  me  up  in  hell  (che 
Christo  facci  venire  un  fuoco  dal  cielo  sopra  di  me  che  m'assorba  nell' 
inferno)  ;  but  that  if  it  is  from  God  He  would  make  haste.^  And  to  the 
end  that  you  may  have  more  light,  take  care  that  prayers  (to  this  effect) 
are  said  in  all  your  monasteries,  and  tell  the  '  tepidi '  to  come,  and  to 
pray  that  morning  that  God  would  deliver  you,  and  that  if  I  deceive  you 
a  fire  may  come  from  heaven  to  destroy  me.  Write  this  everywhither, 
bid  mounted  messengers  ride  post  to  Rome  (spacciate  staffette  a  Roma) ; 


1  There  is  clearly  a  false  and  un-Catholic  principle  involved  in  laying  down  the 
conditions  under  which  God  is  to  make  His  will  known.  To  appeal  from  the 
visilile,  t.nngible,  living  authority  of  the  Church  which  He  has  established,  to  the 
evidence  of  a  miracle  which  He  has  not  promised,  is  to  expose  oneself  (and  in  this 
case  many  others  also)  to  a  harmful  delusion. 


284  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

.  .  .  and  bid  them  pray  on  that  day  that  if  this  thing  is  not  of  God, 
destruction  may  fall  upon  me  as  I  have  said  ;" — and  so  forth  with  further 
iteration. 

But  some  one  objects  :  "You  say  you  will  hold  the  Sacrament  in 
your  hands.  But  perhaps  you  do  not  believe  in  it  (the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment), and  so  you  won't  care."  He  answers  that  if  he  were  to  act  as  he 
proposes,  not  believing,  this  would  indeed  be  an  awful  crime  that  would 
deserve  God's  instant  chastisement. 

" '  But  you  are  exposing  yourself  to  risk  ! ' — No,  I  am  exposing 
myself  to  no  risk  ;  you  will  see  how  joyful  I  shall  be  in  company  with  my 
Lord  (vedrai  pur  come  io  mi  staro  allegro  col  mio  Signore).  I  am  no 
fool.  I  know  what  I  am  about.  I  will  stand  firm,  and  you  shall  sing  : 
'Stir  up  Thy  power,  O  Lord,  and  come  to  our  deliverance.'  I  shall 
stand,  as  I  have  said,  with  the  Sacrament  in  my  hand.  Ask  one  of 
those  '  tepidi '  whether  he  is  ready  to  try  the  same  experiment." 

The  concluding  words  of  the  sermon  offer  a  pleasing  contrast  to 
a  passage  in  which  we  find  some  difficulty  in  recognising  the  accents 
of  true  humility. 

"  Afterwards,"  he  says,  "  we  will  have  the  procession  of  the  children. 
But,  my  children,  I  warn  you  to  be  grave.  Let  your  procession  be 
modest  and  orderly,  and  let  each  say  his  prayers.  And  you  must 
not  cry,  'Viva  Gesu  Christo'  again  till  I  tell  you.  For  these  things 
must  be  done  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  all  in  order. 
Now  we  are  going  to  make  a  great  war  on  the  devil  and  his  carnal 
pomps  (spassi  carnali)  in  place  of  which  we  will  introduce  spiritual 
pomps." 

In  fact,  under  the  favouring  auspices  of  a  friendly  Signory,  the 
procession,  and  the  sacred  dance,  and  the  bonfire  of  vanities,  were 
carried  out  with  greater  solemnity  than  in  the  previous  year.  And 
whatever  may  be  thought  of  Savonarola's  appeal  to  heaven,  or  of 
other  points  in  his  carnival  sermon,  there  can  be  no  two  opinions  as 
to  the  conduct  of  those  Compagnacci  who  showed  their  spite  against 
the  Friar  and  their  contempt  for  religion  by  hustling  the  children  as 
they  walked  in  procession  through  the  streets  and  casting  their 
crosses  into  the  Arno. 

Florence  was  on  the  eve  of  a  new  election.  Henceforth 
Savonarola  would  have  to  fight  his  battles  without  the  support  of  a 
friendly  Signory.  But,  whatever  his  mistakes  or  his  faults  may  have 
been,  it  was  at  least  not  in  any  human  power  that  he  put  his  trust. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    DECLARATION    OF   WAR    (LENT  1 498) 

"  /'"^UERRA  a  ferri  puYiti,"  wdLV  a  oufrance,  is  the  dominant  note  of 
Vj"  Fra  Girolamo's  sermons  throughout  the  unfinished  Lenten 
course  of  1498.  "  Write  to  Rome,"  he  exclaims,  on  Ash  Wednesday, 
"  that  this  Friar,  with  his  followers,  wishes  to  fight  against  you  wicked 
men  as  we  would  fight  against  Turks,  and  that  we  wish  to  die  and 
suffer  martyrdom.  I  have  a  great  desire  to  suffer  martyrdom  at 
your  hands.  O  Lord,  grant  me  this  grace.  O  Rome,  you  think 
to  frighten  me ;  but  I  have  no  fear."  ^  To  the  objection  that  it  is 
vain-glorious  to  style  himself  a  martyr,  he  replies  that  he  does  not 
claim  this  title,  but  wishes  to  deserve  it.^ 

"  War  !  "  again,  is  his  cry.  A  zealous  preacher  is  like  the  war- 
horse  described  by  Job,  eager  for  the  fray  ;  and  Christ  is  the  rider, 
to  every  touch  of  whose  guiding  hand  the  steed  is  responsively 
obedient.^ 

It  is  in  no  mere  spirit  of  bravado  that  the  Friar  hurls  his  defiance 
in  the  teeth  of  his  enemies.  His  soul  is  stirred  to  its  very  depths 
by  the  sight  of  shameless  corruption  in  high  places,  and  of  spiritual 
power  abused  and  turned,  as  he  is  thoroughly  convinced,  to  the 
ruin  of  souls.*  The  Church,  he  declares,  has  become  a  very  sink 
of  iniquity  (una  feccia).^  If  you  want  to  be  spiritually  ruined,  he 
says  elsewhere,  go  to  Rome.  Formerly  prelates  had  at  least  enough 
sense  of  shame  to  call  their  bastard  offspring  "  nephews,"  now  these 
nephews  are  recognised  as  sons.^  He  only  wants  "  a  Bull  to 
authorise  men  to  live  well  (una  bolla  da  potere  bene  vivere)  " ;  ^  but 
as  long  as  Papal  documents  have  a  purport  which  is  quite  the 
opposite  of  this,  he  will  not  cease  to  raise  his  voice  in  protest. 

1  S.  4.  on  Exodus.  -  S.  6.  ^  S.  4- 

*  S.  22.  '  S.   II.  *  S.  12. 

^  S.  4.     Again   in    S.    16   he   says   that   if  a  religious  wants   to  get  a  Bull 

authorising  him  to  leave  his  Order,  he  can  easily  obtain  it,  but  he  can't  get  a 

document  authorising  him  to  live  a  virtuous  life. 


286  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  he  declares,  as  to  the  character  of  the 
war  in  wliich  he  is  engaged ;  they  are  the  forces  of  Christ  and  of 
Satan  wiiich  are  opposed  in  battle  array. 

In  a  war  men  judge  of  the  nationality  of  the  combatants  by  their 
standards  and  by  their  weapons.  The  weapons  of  a  Christian  are  faith, 
prayer,  and  patience  ;  and  these  are  the  weapons  which  he  and  his 
followers  employ.  The  weapons  of  Satan  are  furious  hatred,  blasphemy, 
and  every  kind  of  mischief  These  are  the  weapons  of  his  enemies.  There 
ought,  then,  to  be  no  hesitation  as  to  which  side  a  man  should  take. 
Those  who,  though  they  seem  good,  are  not  on  his  side,  show  themselves 
not  to  be  truly  good  men,  or  they  would  not  take  part  with  the  wicked. 
Let  no  one  be  misled  by  mere  names.  He  is  excommunicate  in  name, 
but  it  is  not  a  man's  name  that  shows  us  what  he  is,  but  his  actions. 
Let  who  will  watch  the  combat,  and  he  will  easily  discover  who  is 
excommunicate  indeed.^ 

An  imaginary  listener  speaks  a  word  of  warning.  "O  Brother,  take 
care  what  you  are  doing!  He  {i.e.  the  Pope)  is  a  'gran  maestro.'" 
"  Let  him  be  as  great  as  you  please,"'  is  the  preachers  reply,  "  I  will  have 
no  peace  with  him  if  he  does  not  live  well."  And  then,  addressing 
Alexander  in  person  (though  of  course  without  naming  him)  he  says  : 
"  If  you  wish  to  fight  against  me,  you  will  fight  as  a  pagan  ;  for  we  live 
in  a  Christian  manner,  but  your  life  is  in  opposition  to  Christ  If  I  am 
a  martyr,  you  will  be  a  tyrant  persecutor.  I  must  needs  act  towards  you 
as  S.  Ambrose  did  when  he  rebuked  Theodosius  for  his  sin.'"^ 

He  tells  the  story  of  Jacopone  da  Todi,  who,  being  invited 
to  preach  before  "  that  wicked  Pope,  Boniface  VIII.,"  went  into  the 
pulpit  and  exclaimed  :  "  I  marvel,  I  marvel,  yea  I  marvel,  that  the 
earth  does  not  open  and  swallow  you  up  !  May  God  be  with  you  !  " 
and  went  away  without  saying  another  word.  Is  there  not,  asks  Fra 
Girolamo,  more  abundant  cause  for  such  marvel  now  ?  ^  Hearing 
that  the  Signory  has  received  a  Brief  from  the  Pope  concerning 
himself,  and  that  the  reply  to  be  given  thereto  is  under  debate,  he 
says  : — 

"  You  show  too  much  kindness  and  considerateness  (troppa  dementia 
et  rispetti)  in  your  replies.  Let  me  answer  a  word  or  two.  I  will 
thunder  in  their  ears  after  such  a  fashion  that  they  will  hear  indeed. 
The  time  draws  near  to  open  the  casket,  and  if  we  do  but  turn  the  key, 
there  will  come  forth  such  a  stench  from  the  Roman  sink  (tanta  puzza, 
tanta  feccia  dalla  citta  di  Roma)  that  it  will  spread  through  all  Christen- 
dom and  every  one  will  perceive  it  (puzzerk  ad  ognuno)."  ^ 

The  turning  of  the  key,  and  the  opening   of  the  casket,  have 
»  S.  4.  ''  S.  6.  s  s.  19.  «  s.  5. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  287 

reference  to  his  project  for  tlie  calling  of  a  council  with  a  view  to 
the  deposition  of  the  Pope  and  the  reformation  of  the  Church.  To 
this  project  he  more  than  once  alludes  in  the  course  of  these  sermons, 
but  always,  it  must  be  admitted,  in  a  somewhat  guarded  manner.^ 
But  in  his  confident  assertion  that  a  terrible  denouement  is  at  hand 
there  is  no  manner  of  reserve.  He  will  raise  such  a  stir  that  his  high 
placed  adversaries  will  "jump  out  of  bed."  -  Nay,  even  of  their  own 
sheer  wicked  nessthey  will  burst  asunder,  and  all  the  foulness  of 
their  cruelty  and  malice  w'ill  be  made  manifest  ("tu  scopperai  le 
viscere  e  crepperai " )? 

The  Brief,  of  which  we  shall  have  something  to  say  presently, 
had  styled  Fra  Girolamo  "  a  son  of  iniquity,"  a  needlessly  offensive 
and  cruelly  unjust  phrase  which  we  have  no  desire  to  condone. 
What  a  saint  would  have  said  under  such  provocation — if  a  saint 
could  be  supposed  to  have  drawn  such  provocation  upon  himself 
from  such  a  quarter — we  will  not  undertake  to  conjecture.  Fra 
Girolamo  bids  his  hearers  "  write  to  them  that  he  whom  you  call  by 
that  name  does  not  abandon  himself  to  a  licentious  life  "  (we  dare 
not  translate  the  very  words  of  the  preacher),  "  but  that  he  devotes 
himself  to  preaching  the  faith  of  Christ."* 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  Brief  was  to  cause  the  Signory  to 
forbid  Savonarola  to  preach  any  longer  in  the  Duomo.  Accordingly, 
"after  the  example  of  Christ,  who  yielded  before  the  malice  of 
His  enemies  (che  dette  luogo  all'  ira),"  he  withdrew  to  S.  Marco, 
where  he  begged  that,  by  reason  of  the  limited  accommodation,  men 
only  would  come  to  the  sermons.  However,  at  the  earnest  entreaty 
of  the  women  not  to  be  excluded  altogether,  Saturdays  were 
reserved  for  them.^ 

The  passage  which  we  have  last  quoted  occurs  in  the  fifth 
sermon,  but  it  was  in  the  twenty- second,  the  last  of  the  series,  that 
the  note  of  defiance  is  most  loudly  sounded.  It  happens  in  nature, 
says  the  preacher  (whose  system  of  natural  philosophy  need  not 
here  be  criticised),  that  when  particular  causes  fail  of  their  due  effect, 
the  deficiency  is  supplied  by  causes  of  a  more  universal  or  elemental 
character. 

"  But  if  the  elements  themselves  should   become  corrupted,  what  is 
then  to  be  done }    You  must  fly  from  them,  or  resist  one  element  by 

^  E.g.  in  S.  13,  (J  propos  of  Exod.  iv.  29,  "  Congrcgaverunt  oinnes  seniores 
tilionim  Israel." 

2    S.  9.  »  S.  4.  <  S.  s.  5  S.  9. 


288  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

means  of  another,  as  when  tainted  air  is  purified  by  fire.  So  also  in  the 
Church.  If  an  individual  religious,  for  instance,  acts  amiss,  you  must 
have  recourse  in  turn  to  his  Prior,  to  the  Provincial,  to  the  General,  and 
last  of  all  to  the  Pope  ;  but  if  the  Pope  will  not  act  (non  li  provede  lui), 
and  this  universal  cause  should  fail  you,  one  must  next  have  recourse  to 
the  Pope  in  heaven  (al  Papa  celeste),  that  is,  to  Christ.  .  .  .  And  if  it 
should  happen  that  these  universal  causes  in  the  Christian  common- 
wealth not  only  do  not  help,  but  are  sources  of  corruption  and  exercise 
an  evil  influence  to  the  detriment  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  what  is  to  be 
done  then  ?  .  .  .  One  must  resist  this  evil  influence,  one  must  pray 
and  have  recourse  to  Christ  .  .  .  every  one  must  resist  the  evil 
influence.  You  say  that  we  must  not  resist  the  ecclesiastical  power  ;  but 
I  say  that  when  power  is  used  to  the  detriment  of  the  Church  it  is  no 
longer  an  ecclesiastical  power,  but  an  infernal  power,  the  power  of 
Satan."! 

It  is  needless  to  pursue  the  quotation  further.  The  reader  has 
already  had  abundant  evidence  of  the  deeply-rooted  conviction  of 
the  preacher,  that  war,  war  against  an  unworthy  Pope,  had  become 
for  him,  and  for  all  good  men,  a  sacred  duty.  The  war  in  which  he 
is  engaged  is  not  merely  in  the  cause  of  God,  but  it  is  carried  on 
under  divine  leadership  actively  exercised. 

"When  you  see  the  Pope's  mules  at  a  church  door  in  Rome,  you  say,  if 
you  are  familiar  with  Roman  customs  : '  The  Pope  is  within.'  So,  when  you 
hear  the  trumpets,  and  see  the  standards,  and  the  guard  of  honour  drawn 
up  at  the  gates  of  a  palace,  you  say :  '  The  Emperor  is  here.'  In  like 
manner  the  presence  of  God  is  to  be  known  by  His  trumpets  (of  preach- 
ing), and  His  standards  (of  a  good  life),  and  His  guard  (of  men  of 
exemplary  conduct).  But  now  the  trumpets  sound  to  battle,  and  an 
expedition  of  the  hosts  of  heaven  is  on  foot.  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul  and 
S.  Greo^ory  cry  :  'To  Rome  !'  S.  John,  S.  Zenobius,  and  B.  Antoninus 
cry :  '  To  Florence  I '  S.  Ambrose  prepares  to  march  on  Lombardy. 
S.  Mark  threatens  Venice,  '  the  city  of  them  that  dwell  amid  the 
waters.'  All  are  ready  to  chastise  their  several  cities.  And  S.  Benedict 
S.  Francis,  and  S.  Dominic  will  swoop  down  upon  their  several  Orders."'* 
O  Florence  !  the  sack,  i.e.  the  measure  of  your  iniquities,  is  full.  You 
must  look  for  a  terrible  scourge.  The  Lord  will  bear  witness  that  I  and 
my  brethren  have  tried  our  best  to  ward  it  off ;  but  it  cannot  be  done. 
We  have  prayed  that  the  scourge  might  be  commuted  to  a  pestilence. 
Whether  we  have  been  heard  or  not  you  will  see.  Let  every  one  confess 
and  be  prepared."  ^ 

The  Book  of  Exodus,   which  Fra  Girolamo  had  chosen  as  the 
subject  of  his  discourses  during  this  Lent,    abounds  in  passages 

I  s.  22.  *  S.  19.  »  S.  4. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  289 

admirably  adapted,  or  easily  adaptable,  to  his  purpose.  "  Almighty 
God,"  he  says,  "who  Himself  dictated  this  book,  has  put  into  it 
wonderful  meanings."  1  The  "spiritual  sense,"  he  declares,  though 
founded  on  the  literal,  is  not  like  it  confined  to  one  purport,  but 
admits  of  application  to  ever-varying  circumstances  ;  and  its  applica- 
tion to  the  present  time  is  obvious. ^ 

"The  story  of  Moses  and  Pharaoh  repeats  itself.  'Come,  let  us  wisely 
oppress  them,'  said  Pharaoh  of  the  Israelites.  Now,  as  then,  the  wicked 
think  themselves  wise  ;  and  the  city  chosen  by  God  to  be  the  recipient  of 
His  special  graces  is  called  'foolish  Florence,  Friar  Florence.'  Pharaoh 
bade  the  midwives  of  Egypt  to  abuse  their  office,  and  destroy  the  male 
children  of  the  Israelites.  The  'gran  maestri'  of  our  day  bid  the 
preachers  belie  their  function  of  bringing  Christ  again  to  the  birth  in  the 
souls  of  men,  and  when  they  will  not  do  so,  oppress  them  with  excom- 
munications and  every  kind  of  persecution."^  "The  Egyptians  'afflicted 
and  mocked '  the  Israelites.  So  do  our  adversaries  to-day  afflict  you 
and  mock  you,  calling  you  '  hypocrites  and  pi7tzochero7ii^  and  styling 
your  red  crosses  '  mandrakes.'"  *  "Who  hath  appointed  thee  .  .  .  judge 
over  us  ?"  said  the  Hebrew  to  Moses  ;  and  so  say  the  "cattivi "  to  him.* 

As,  however,  he  does  not  use  the  name  of  Pharaoh  to  designate 
the  Pope  alone,  but  all  the  "cattivi"  and  "tepidi,"  so  also  he  is 
careful  to  say  that  he  does  not  liken  himself  to  Moses  in  any  ex- 
clusive sense.  "  Many  others  there  are  who  are  guided  by  the  spirit 
of  God."  6 

The  shepherds  who  came  and  drove  away  the  daughters  of  Raguel 
when  they  would  have  drawn  water  (Exod.  ii.  17),  are  those  wicked 
pastors  who  drive  away  the  souls  that  belong  to  Christ.  They  forbid 
them  to  come  to  the  sermons.  "Tell  these  reverend  sirs  to  come  up  into 
this  pulpit  themselves,  and  expound  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  Why,  some 
of  them  can't  even  read  the  Bible  !  And  I  make  bold  to  say  that  some  of 
them  could  more  easily  discourse  about  eating  and  drinking  and  vice 
than  about  Holy  Scripture."  "^ 

But  Moses  drove  away  these  bad  shepherds  with  blows,  and 
himself  watered  the  flock.  "  Listen  to  my  blows.  You  priest ! 
you  prelate  !  Leave  your  mistresses  and  your  shameless  wicked- 
ness, your  gluttony  and  your  worldly  display,  and  your  dogs."^ 
The  dogs  of  the  clergy,  it  may  be  observed  in  passing,  appear  to 

»  S.  4.  2  S.  9.  »  S.  4.  «  S.  6.  »  S.  7-  '  ibid. 

'  S.  8,  It  will  be  understood  that  Fra  Girolamo  speaks  with  a  degree  of 
explicit  plainness  which,  in  an  English  translation,  requires  the  use  of  paraphrastic 
generalities. 

8  Ibid. 

T 


290  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

have  especially  roused  his  indignation.  "  S.  Gregory  gave  bread, 
not  to  dogs,  but  to  the  poor.''^  Again,  Pharaoh  kept  the  Israelites 
in  slavery,  engaged  in  servile  works,  and  would  not  let  them  go  forth 
to  oflfer  sacrifice.  Moreover,  he  would  provide  no  straw  for  the 
making  of  bricks  for  his  buildings. 

"  If  you  wish  to  engage  in  the  servile  work  of  minding  worldly  things, 
Rome  will  not  disturb  you.  Rome  will  allow  you  to  accumulate  plenty  of 
riches,  which  are  but  as  clay  or  mud,  but  hinders  you  from  obtaining 
those  means  of  grace,  symbolised  by  the  straw,  which  you  need  if  you  are 
to  build  a  true  spiritual  edifice."" 

"  But  now  God  says  :  '  I  will  deliver  you  from  this  slavery  of  wicked 
friars  and  wicked  prelates.'  Doubt  not  that  God  will  lift  up  His  strong 
arm  even  unto  Rome,  and  will  deliver  you  in  His  mighty  judgments. 
You  priests  who  to-day  bear  yourselves  so  proudly  will  one  day  hide  your 
tonsures  for  very  shame.  The  scourge  will  surely  come.  '  Then,'  saith 
the  Lord,  '  shall  ye  know  me  ;  and  then  will  ye  confess  that  it  is  not  the 
Friar  who  has  preached  to  you,  but  I  myself.' "  ^ 

These  words,  to  say  nothing  of  others  which  have  been  already 
quoted,  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  show  how  fully  Fra  Girolamo 
maintained,  to  the  very  end  of  his  public  career,  the  character 
of  an  inspired  prophet.  If,  he  says,  he  chose  to  depart  from 
Florence,  and  to  trample  conscience  under  foot,  and  to  disobey 
the  command  laid  upon  him  by  God,  he  could  easily  escape  all 
persecution.  But  he  is  as  sure  of  his  mission,  and  of  the  genuine- 
ness and  truth  of  the  divine  message  which  he  has  to  deliver,  as  he 
is  that  he  stands  in  the  pulpit,  and  that  the  habit  which  he  wears  is 
white.*  "What  do  you  think  we  should  do,"  he  asks  in  his  last 
sermon,  "  if  this  absolution  were  to  come  ?  "  Would  he  recant  ?  No. 
And  why  ? 

"  Because  we  are  ambassadors,  and  we  cannot  speak  otherwise  than 
according  to  our  commission.  An  ambassador,  when  he  speaks  in  his 
own  name,  may  well  show  all  humility  and  obeisance,  but  when  he  speaks 
in  his  master's  name,  he  must  utter  his  message  with  unshrinking  firm- 

1  S.  i6. 

'^  S.  15.  More  emphatic  than  any  of  these  applications  of  Holy  Scripture  is 
the  passage  in  which,  implicitly  comparing  the  Pope  with  Phassur,  the  High 
Priest  who  persecuted  Jeremiah,  Savonarola  declares  that  this  modern  Phassur 
will  come  to  a  bad  end.  "  E  a  te  dico  Phassur,  che  tu  anderai  in  cattivita  di 
Babilonia,  tu  e  gli  habitatori  di  casa  tua,  e  gli  amici  tuoi  che  ti  saranno  restati, 
et  hanno  a  morire  di  morte  etertia  nell'  inferno,^'  etc.  (S.  22). 

3  S.  16. 

*  Ibid, 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  491 

ness.     Think  not  that  I  will  recant  ;  may  God  preserve  me  from  wavering 
if  that  absolution  which  they  want  should  conic."  ' 

But  perhaps  the  strangest,  if  not  the  strongest,  passage  bearing  on 
this  subject  is  one  in  which  Fra  Girolamo  makes  a  somewhat  bold 
application  of  the  parable  of  the  vineyard  let  out  to  husbandmen. 

"God  has  sent  His  preachers  into  the  vineyard.  But  how  many  there 
are  who  in  these  days  seek  to  slay  His  preachers.  Wherefore  at  last  God 
has  sent  His  Son.  Who  is  this  ?  He  is  the  Truth,  for  He  Himself  has 
said  :  '  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.'  God,  then,  has  sent  the 
Truth,  and  has  said  :  'Perchance  they  will  fear  my  Son.'  But  they  want 
to  drive  the  Truth  away  ;  and  I  warn  you  that  it  is  not  the  Friar  whom 
they  seek  to  drive  away,  but  Christ.  Believe  me  it  is  so.  And  do  thou,  O 
Rome,  mark  well  my  words  :  Auferetur  a  vobis  regnum — the  kingdom  shall 
be  taken  from  you  ;  Christ  will  take  the  Church  from  your  hands,  and  will 
give  it  to  good  husbandmen  who  will  turn  it  to  good  account.  Videbitis 
cite— you  will  see  that  this  will  soon  come  to  pass."^ 

This  comparison  or  identification  of  the  prophetic  "  truth,"  as 
declared  by  himself,  with  the  Son  of  God,  by  contrast  with  ordinary 
preaching  is,  to  say  the  least,  remarkable.  He  is  as  confident  as 
ever  of  the  approaching  conversion  of  the  Turks.  As  God  rejected 
the  Jews  and  called  the  Gentiles,  so  now  He  will  reject  the  West, 
and  call  into  His  Church  the  nations  of  the  East.^ 

A  considerable  portion  of  this  last  series  of  sermons  is  taken  up 
with  the  topics,  now  familiar  to  the  reader,  of  Savonarola's  defence 
of  his  own  conduct. 

His  enemies  wish  to  burn  his  books,  as  Sabinianus,  the  unworthy 
successor  of  S.  Gregory,  would  have  burnt  those  of  the  great  Doctor, 
saying  that  he  had  ruined  the  Church  by  his  alms.'*  But  if  they  burn  his 
books  they  will  be  burning  an  exposition  of  the  Christian  faith.^  It  would 
be  more  to  the  purpose  if  they  would  read  his  books  before  condemning 
them,  as  S.  Augustine  was  always  careful  to  read  the  works  even  of 
heretical  writers.^  They  charge  him  with  having  spoken  ill  of  the  Pope, 
but  he  has  never  named  any  one.  His  words,  as  he  long  since  warned 
his  hearers,  are  like  hail  that  falls  upon  the  earth.  If  any  one  wishes  not 
to  be  struck,  let  him  keep  under  cover.'^  There  is  one  {i.e.  Fra  Mariano) 
who  has  spoken  outrageously  of  the  Pope  in  times  past,  and  whom  he 
himself  has  publicly  reproved  on  that  very  account.  But  now  that  other 
preacher  is  in  high  favour  ;  a  sure  sign  that  his  tirade  against  the  Pope 
did  not  proceed  from  God,  but  from  the  desire  to  please  a  human  master." 
They  charge  him  with  having  declared  that  he  is  a  prophet,  and  that  he 


1   S.  22. 

■•'  S.  20. 

=*  S.  9. 

*  S.  16. 

»  S.  18. 

«  S.  10. 

^  S.  IS. 

«  ibid. 

292  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

cannot  be  lawfully  prohibited  from  prophesying.  But  he  has  only  said 
in  general  terms  that  a  law  against  prophesying  cannot  be  validly  enacted, 
because  this  would  be  to  limit  the  power  of  God.^  He  has  not  said  that 
every  one  is  bound  to  believe  his  predictions,  but  only  that  men  are  bound 
not  obstinately  to  contradict  them.^  Of  course,  due  approval  is  necessary 
but  this  he  has.* 

His  meaning  seems  to  be  that  he  commenced  to  preach  with 
due  authority,  and  that  the  authority  which  has  since  inhibited  his 
preaching  is,  to  this  extent  at  least,  null.  If  it  be  said  that  a  papal 
Brief  has  prohibited  his  preaching,  he  answers  that  the  Brief  is  not 
truly  papal.  A  Pope  as  Pope  could  not  issue  such  a  Brief,  any  more 
than  a  Christian  as  a  Christian  can  commit  sin.^  As  for  the  project 
of  union,  this  is  only  a  device  of  his  enemies  to  drive  him  away  from 
Florence.^ 

But  are  not  many  of  his  prophecies  in  fact  unfulfilled  ?  Those  who 
raise  this  objection  should  remember  that  God  works  slowly.^  Joseph 
waited  fourteen  years,  Moses  forty  ;  it  is  only  eight  years  since  he  began 
to  prophesy.^  People  mocked  Isaiah  because  the  fulfilment  of  his  pre- 
dictions seemed  to  be  indefinitely  delayed  :  and  so  it  has  ever  been  with 
God's  prophets.  Again,  the  sun  hardly  seems  to  move,  because  you  see 
it  from  a  distance  ;  but  if  you  were  to  approach  it  you  would  see  how  it 
moves.  So,  too,  God  moves,  or  rather  works,  slowly  to  our  eyes,  but 
most  surely  in  fact.^ 

And  yet,  though  God  works  slowly  to  his  own  appointed  ends, 
the  preacher-prophet  clings  to  the  belief  that  the  things  which  he 
has  predicted  will  soon  come  to  pass.  "  Videbimus  cito  "  is  still  the 
burden  of  his  prophecy.  The  signs  of  the  times  point  to  a  speedy 
issue.  The  circumstances  of  the  day  are  like  to  those  "when 
this  Scripture  was  written."  "Now,  that  is  to  say  cito,  presto, 
shall  Pharaoh  be  punished ;  the  scourge  draws  near  to  these  ecclesi- 
astics, I  tell  you  that  it  hastens  marvellously  (che  '1  si  appropinqua 
mirabilmente)."^ 

A  curious  feature  of  his  apology  for  his  own  prophetic  mission 
is  the  recognition  that  he  was  not  the  only  prophet  in  the  field ;  and 
the  test  whereby  he  discriminates  his  prophecies  from  those  of 
others  is  worthy  of  note.  He  remembers  in  his  boyhood  to  have 
heard  men  predict  things  to  come ;  yet  no  one  interfered  with  them.^'' 
And  still  more  recently,  many  have  uttered  prophecies  and  no  one 
finds  fault.     This  is  a  sign  that  such  predictions  were  not  of  God. 


IS.  5. 

«  S.  i6. 

2    S.    lO. 

VS.  5. 

3  8.  9. 

«S.  7. 

<  Ibid. 
»  S.  i6. 

"5.5. 
10  S.  1 8. 

THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  293 

But  his  predictions  have  been  productive  of  good  results,  they  have 
powerfully  contributed  to  the  introduction  of  a  virtuous  life,  and 
therefore  he  has  been  persecuted. 

The  prediction  of  future  things  has  not  of  its  own  nature  any 
tendency  to  excite  persecution.  It  is  only  when  such  predictions  pro- 
duce a  genuine  amendment  of  life  that  the  wicked  are  impelled  to 
suppress  them.'  Jeremiah,  who  prophesied  evil  of  Jerusalem,  was 
persecuted  by  Phassur  the  High  Priest,  who  was  "a  great  liar,"  and 
who  excommunicated  the  prophet,  and  put  him  in  the  stocks  by  night  ; 
but  when  day  dawned  the  prophet  came  forth  again  and  said  the  same 
things  as  before.-  Men  demand  a  miracle  as  a  "  sign  "  that  his  prophecies 
are  genuine.  But  they  would  do  well  to  remember  our  Lord's  words  : 
"An  evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  a  sign,"  and  to  bear  in  mind 
that  neither  Jeremiah  nor  S.  John  the  Baptist  worked  any  miracle. 
The  true  signs  are  those  of  which  he  has  so  often  spoken,  viz.  the  pro- 
duction of  good  results,  and  the  consequent  persecution.  These  are  the 
true  seal  of  the  divine  approval. 

But  although  passages  such  as  those  which  have  been  quoted  or 
summarised  above  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  characteristic  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  last  sermons,  yet  there  are  not  wanting  others  which 
more  unmistakably  show  the  true  moral  greatness  of  the  man,  and 
which  compel  admiration  quite  independently  of  any  possible 
divergencies  of  opinion  with  regard  to  his  prophetic  gifts,  and  to  the 
defiant  attitude  which  he  now  held  towards  the  Pope.  The  eighth 
sermon,  for  instance,  contains  a  really  splendid  encomium  of  faith 
as  conferring  on  the  creature  a  participation  in  the  immutability  of 
the  Creator. 

"  God  alone  moves  without  being  Himself  moved  ;  in  Him  alone  there 
is  no  composition — to  use  the  language  of  the  schools — between  potenti- 
ality and  act,  but  He  is  all  pure  act.  And  the  more  nearly  any  creature 
approaches  to  God,  and  the  more  closely  he  is  united  with  Him,  the 
more  that  creature  participates  in  the  immutability  of  God.  If  you  have 
chosen  God  as  your  end,  seek  all  those  means  which  may  lead  you  to 
God  and  establish  you  in  Him  ;  and,  having  reached  Him,  cling  to  Him 
and  embrace  Him.  .  .  .  Now,  my  friends,  what  is  that  which  establishes 
the  heart  of  man  in  God?  We  have  learned  alike  from  experience,  from 
reason,  and  from  authority,  that  nothing  but  faith  can  ever  establish  the 
heart  in  God.  And  not  only  does  faith  strengthen  the  heart,  but  it 
renders  it  so  firm  that  it  has  made  very  many  even  to  rejoice  in  the 
midst  of  the  torments  of  martyrdom."^ 

And  the  preacher  goes  on  to  point  the  moral  by  dwelling  on  the 
1  S.  18.  2  s.  22.  »  S.  8. 


204  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

firmness  and  the  joyful  spirit  manifested  by  his  own  followers  in  the 
midst  of  present  tribulations  and  persecutions.  In  similar  terms  he 
speaks  of  the  effects  of  charity. 

Scattered  through  the  sermons  are  remarks  which  show  him 
possessed  of  a  shrewd  mother-wit,  of  a  sense  of  humour  which  helps 
him  to  pierce  the  outward  semblance  of  things,  and  lay  bare  the 
inner  reality.  The  devotion  to  S.  Francis  and  S.  Dominic  which 
has  shown  itself  in  the  building  of  splendid  convents,  on  the  walls 
of  which  the  arms  and  heraldic  devices  of  the  munificent  founders 
are  everywhere  conspicuous,  this  kind  of  devotion  is  not  all 
genuine,  but  too  often  proceeds  from  vain-glory,  and  from  a  desire 
to  gain  the  subservient  allegiance  even  of  monks  and  friars.  S. 
Paul  said  that  he  who  desired  a  bishopric  desired  a  good  work ;  but 
there  is  no  need  to  exhort  any  one  to  seek  a  bishopric  now,  in  days 
when  the  pastoral  staff  has  become  too  precious  to  strike  with. 
Again,  good  religious  do  not  wander  about  engaging  in  gossip  with 
every  one  they  meet.  If  any  one  should  see  one  of  his  community 
gossiping  in  the  Piazza,  let  them  throw  a  councillor's  cloak  over  the 
friar's  shoulders,  and  invite  him  to  the  Pratica.^  Some  of  these 
prelates,  he  says,  make  a  boast  of  being  able  to  absolve  from  every 
kind  of  sin,  "  reserved  cases,"  and  so  forth.  But  if  Christ  does  not 
ratify  the  absolution,  of  what  use  is  it?  In  connection  with  the 
charge  made  against  Savonarola  of  teaching  and  enforcing  an 
exaggerated  asceticism,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  note  a  passage  in 
the  seventh  sermon  in  which  he  warns  his  hearers  that  natural  means 
must  be  used  to  attain  natural  ends.  They  must  not  stand  with 
their  arms  folded.  "  When  you  rise  in  the  morning,  give  thanks  to 
God.  Then  go  to  Church  to  hear  Mass.  But  you  must  not  stay 
there  all  day  on  your  knees.  After  Mass,  go  about  your  business, 
public  or  private,"  etc. 

The  most  beautiful  of  all  the  sermons  is  the  last  but  one  of  the 
series,  preached  on  Saturday,  17th  March,  and  addressed — as  were 
the  other  Saturday  sermons — to  an  audience  of  women.  Its  subject 
is  the  Psalm,  "  How  lovely  are  Thy  tabernacles  (or  tents),  O  Lord 
of  Hosts  ! "  Taking  up  the  language  of  Canticles,  he  describes  the 
soul  as  engaged  in  an  earnest  search  for  the  Beloved. 

"  Perhaps  He  is  to  be  found  '  in  tabemaculis  pastorum — in  the 
shepherds'  tents.'     What  are  the  tents  of  God  ?     Surely  His  creatures, 

^5.5. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  29s 

for  in  them  He  dwells.  The  soul,  then,  may  be  imagined  as  wandering 
through  creation,  lifting  up,  as  she  goes  along,  the  flap  or  lappel  of  each 
tent,  seeking  if  the  Beloved  be  there.  Convents  and  religious  houses, 
these  are,  or  should  be,  God's  tents  of  war.  But  alas  !  in  how  many  of  them 
may  He  be  sought  in  vain.  Again,  the  Psalmist  exclaims  :  'The  sparrow 
has  found  herself  a  house.'  The  mind  of  man,  like  a  bird  seeking  where 
to  build  her  nest,  ranges  over  the  world,  seeking  rest  in  philosophy,  in 
literature,  in  science,  and  so  forth,  but  in  God  alone  can  it  find  true 
repose.  He  is  enough,  let  it  seek  no  other.  '  And  the  turtle  a  nest 
where  it  may  lay  its  young.'  So,  too,  the  will  of  man  seeks  its  object 
here,  there,  and  everywhere,  but  in  God  alone  can  it  find  that  which 
satisfies  it." 

The  steps  by  which  the  Hebrew  pilgrinn  proposes  to  mount  to 
the  divine  sanctuary  on  Sion  ("ascensiones  in  corde  suo  disposuit") 
are  illustrated — strangely,  as  it  may  seem  to  the  modern  reader — by 
the  seven  petitions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  ;  while  the  blessings  which 
he  confidently  hopes  to  receive  ("etenim  benedictionem  dabit 
legislator ")  are  brought  into  relation  with  the  successive  blessings 
pronounced  by  God  on  the  several  stages  of  the  work  of  creation  as 
recorded  in  Genesis  i.  The  words  "  Protector  noster  aspice  in  nos," 
etc.,  afford  the  text  for  a  peroration  which  was  broken  off,  as  Vivoli 
tells  us,  by  the  sobs  and  cries  of  "  Misericordia  "  which  spontaneously 
burst  from  the  entire  crowd  of  his  hearers. 

"  I  can  say  no  more,  but  only  weep.  I  would  fain  melt  away  with 
love,  here  in  this  pulpit.  I  do  not  ask  Thee,  O  Lord,  to  hear  us  for  our 
merits,  but  for  Thy  own  goodness,  and  out  of  regard  for  Thy  Son. 
'  Look  upon  the  face  of  Thy  Christ.'  .  .  .  Many  prayers  have  been 
offered,  and  will  still  be  offered  on  all  sides  ;  Thou,  O  Lord,  hast 
promised  to  hear  them.  .  .  .  But  do  not  now  limit  Thine  action  to 
lesser  matters  (non  star  piu  a  queste  cose  basse)  set  Thine  hand  now  to 
great  things  (a  cose  magne  et  a  cose  grandi) ;  have  compassion  on  Thy 
poor  little  flock  (le  tue  pecorelle),  whom  Thou  seest  here  all  afllicted  and 
persecuted.  Thou  art  their  Shepherd,  dost  Thou  not  wish  them  well, 
O  Lord?  ...  If  I  am  no  longer  of  any  use  for  this  work,  take  my  life  ! 
If  I  am  a  hindrance  to  it,  take,  O  Lord,  my  life,  and  slay  me.  But  what 
have  these  Thy  poor  sheep  done  ?  They  have  done  no  evil.  I  am  the 
sinner  ;  look  not  upon  my  sins,  but  look  upon  Thine  own  sweetness, 
Thine  own  compassion  (al  petto  tuo,  alle  viscere  tue),  and  show  us  Thy 
mercy.     Mercy,  O  Lord,  Mercy  !" 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  tempest  of  tears  broke  forth,  which 
Vivoli  has  so  feelingly  recorded. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   POPE   AND   THE    SIGNORY 

WE  have  given  an  almost  exhaustive  summary  of  the  discourses 
dehvered  by  Fra  Girolamo,  from  the  time  when,  after  his  long 
silence,  he  resumed  the  ministry  of  preaching,  till  the  day  when  he 
bade  a  final  farewell  to  his  devoted  hearers.  We  now  resume  our 
calendar  of  letters  on  the  subject  of  the  Friar,  which  had  already 
been  brought  down  to  the  commencement  of  February  1498.  The 
documents  for  the  most  part  speak  for  themselves,  and  require  little 
in  the  way  of  note  or  comment. 

15^  February;  Manfredi  to  d'Este.'— You  remember  how,  in  the  course 
of  last  summer,  Fra  Girolamo  was  suspended  and  excommunicated,  for 
which  cause  he  has  until  lately  abstained  from  all  public  exercise  of 
ecclesiastical  functions,  in  the  hope  (?)  that  the  Pope  would  absolve  him 
in  view  of  his  justification.  But,  perceiving  that  there  was  no  prospect 
of  such  a  change,  on  last  Christmas  Day  he  publicly  sang  High  Mass, 
and  with  his  own  hands  communicated  all  the  brethren  of  his  convent, 
a»d  a  great  number  of  the  faithful  of  both  sexes.  And  now,  as  Lent  is 
drawing  nigh,  and  as  he  has  been  invited  to  preach  in  S.  Reparata  (the 
Duomo),  it  is  said  that  he  has  decided  to  commence  the  sermons  somewhat 
before  Lent,  and,  accordingly,  the  work  of  preparing  the  benches  and 
tribunes,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  crowds  who  flock  to  hear  him, 
is  being  actively  pushed  on.  This  has  given  occasion  to  much  talk, 
especially  on  the  part  of  the  Friar's  enemies.  So  I  went  to  see  him,  in 
a  convent  of  his  outside  the  city  (S.  Domenico  at  Fiesole),  in  order  to 
ascertain  his  intentions.  He  told  me  he  had  quite  made  up  his  mind  to 
preach  during  this  Lent,  and  perhaps  somewhat  sooner,  in  case  a  wish  to 
this  effect  should  be  signified  by  those  who  have  the  right  to  command 
him.  I  asked  him  whether  he  was  awaiting  orders  from  the  Pope,  or 
from  the  Signory.  He  replied  that  he  would  not  be  induced  to  undertake 
this  work  by  command  of  the  Signory,  nor  even  by  command  of  the 
Pope,  considering  the  evil  life  of  the  latter  (vedutolo  continuare  nel  modo 
di  vivere  che'  1  fa),  and  that  he  was  well  aware  that  the  Pope  made  no 

1  Cappelli,  n.  142. 
296 


THE  POPE  AND  THE  SIGNORY  ^cff 

secret  of  his  determination  not  to  withdraw  the  excommunication.  The 
upshot  was  that  he  awaited  the  commands  of  One  who  was  superior  to 
the  Pope  and  to  all  creatures.  But  he  would  not  tell  me  or  any  one  else 
on  what  day  he  proposed  to  begin.  He  added  that  he  made  no  account 
of  the  excommunication,  the  injustice  of  which,  and  the  whole  truth  con- 
cerning it,  would,  he  hoped,  soon  be  made  manifest.  I  spoke  to  him  of 
the  murmurs  in  the  city,  and  of  the  scandal  which  might  arise.  He  said 
that  if  he  believed  the  excommunication  to  be  valid  he  would  most 
scrupulously  observe  it;  nor  would  he  preach  were  he  not  "more  than 
certain  "  that  no  scandal  would  arise. 

Zth  February;  Same  to  same.* — "Our  Fra  Hieronymo"  has  deter- 
mined to  preach  next  Sunday.  There  is  great  diversity  of  opinion  on  the 
subject.  "  We  will  await  the  issue  of  the  affair,  whereby  it  will  be 
possible  to  form  a  better  judgment  as  to  the  grounds  of  his  action, 
whether  they  be  divine  or  human." 

\T)th  February ;  Same  to  same.* — Fra  H.  did  preach,  and  had  a  great 
audience.  Among  other  "notable  and  memorable  things,"  he  brought 
forward  many  strong  reasons  for  holding  that  the  excommunication  was 
not  valid,  and  he  once  more  afifirmed  that  all  his  predictions  would 
absolutely  be  fulfilled.  Manfredi  will  try  to  get  a  copy  of  the  sermon, 
and  will  send  it  to  d'Este.  There  is  great  division  and  opposition  of 
views,  especially  among  the  canons  of  the  Cathedral.  We  shall  see  what 
the  Pope  thinks  and  does,  especially  as  Savonarola  intends  to  continue 
preaching. 

13///  February;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.^ — Fra  H.  da  Ferrara  preached  in 
the  great  church  on  Sunday  morning,  without  caring  to  wait  longer  for 
absolution  from  his  Holiness.  The  sum  of  his  discourse  was  that  the 
excommunication  was  invalid,  and  that  therefore  no  account  should  be 
made  of  it.  In  confirmation  of  this  he  turned  to  the  crucifix  which  he 
had  on  the  pulpit,  and  prayed  that  if  ever  he  should  acknowledge  this 
sentence,  or  seek  absolution  from  it,  Christ  would  not  forgive  him  his  sins. 
Then  he  bade  his  followers  to  be  of  good  heart  and  to  fear  nothing,  for 
they  would  certainly  be  victorious  over  their  enemies  ;  and  declared  that 
everything  which  he  had  predicted  would  come  to  pass  without  fail.  The 
Signory  have  yielded  to  him  in  everything  ;  so  much  so  that  whereas  the 
Vicar-General  of  the  Archbishop  (Lionardo  de'  ATedici)  had  caused  an 
admonition  to  be  read  in  all  the  parish  churches  to  the  effect  that  who- 
ever went  to  hear  Fra  Jeronimo  would  be  excommunicate,  the  Signory 
have  reprimanded  him,  and  forbidden  him  to  exercise  his  ofiice  (che'l 
non  vadi  piu  a  bancha,  n^  exerciti  piu  I'officio  suo  in  cosa  alchuna). 
Whereby  it  is  clearly  understood  that  the  Signory,  or  at  least  a  majority 
of  them,  have  been  the  cause  of  the  Friar's  preaching. 

17th  February;    Bonsi  to  the  Ten,* — Tliis   evening    the    Bishop   of 


*  Cappelli,  n.  143.  *  !/>id.,  144. 

•  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  1.  *  Marchese,  n.  18. 


298  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Parma  (Stefano  Taverna),  the  Ambassador  of  the  Duke  of  Milan,  has 
called,  and  has  told  me  that  it  is  well  known  here  that  Fra  G.  preached 
last  Sunday,  and  that  a  Cardinal  of  very  great  authority  strongly  con- 
demned this  conduct,  saying  that  he  was  well  aware  that  the  Vicar  has 
been  forbidden  by  the  Signory  (pel  publico)  to  exercise  his  office  because 
he  had  opposed  this  preacher.  The  Bishop  assured  me  that  he  had 
done  his  best  to  make  excuses  on  behalf  of  the  city  to  this  Cardinal,  and 
that  he  will  continue  to  do  so,  but  that  he  greatly  regrets  that  at  so 
critical  a  time  so  grave  a  cause  of  offence  should  have  been  given,  and 
that  so  favourable  an  opportunity  should  have  been  afforded  to  our 
numerous  enemies  to  stir  up  the  anger  of  the  Pope  and  of  the  whole 
court.  His  Lordship  urges  that  it  would  be  well  for  the  Signory  to  write 
to  the  Pope,  and  to  make  whatever  excuse  can  be  made.  He  tells  me 
that  Monsignor  Aschanio  (Cardinal  Sforza)  recommends  the  same.  The 
writer  concludes  by  expressing  his  sense  of  the  gravity  of  the  situation, 
and  by  asking  for  instructions. 

2\st  February;  Taverna  to  Sforza.^ — After  relating  the  fact  of 
Savonarola's  preaching,  and  the  affair  of  the  Vicar,  the  writer  declares 
that  the  matter  has  been  made  the  most  of  by  certain  Cardinals  in 
conversation  with  the  Pope,  who  is  greatly  incensed.  He  has  done  his 
best  to  mitigate  the  Pope's  anger,  and  has  had  a  conversation  with  the 
Florentine  ambassador  (Bonsi),  urging  him  to  exhort  the  Florentines  to 
act  after  a  different  fashion.  Bonsi  expressed  his  annoyance  at  the  turn 
which  affairs  are  taking,  and  promised  to  write  at  once  as  the  case 
required. 

22fid  February ;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.^ — I  have  had  an  audience  of  the 
Pope  together  with  Bracci,  the  Cardinal  of  Perugia  being  present. 
After  hearing  what  I  had  been  commissioned  by  the  Signory  to  say 
(relatively  to  the  affairs  of  Pisa),  the  Pope  wished  to  know  whether  you 
had  made  up  your  minds  to  resist  the  King  of  France,  if  he  should  come 
into  Italy.  I  told  him  it  was  enough  that  you  should  promise  to  be 
"good  Italians";  more  than  this  I  could  not  say.  Then  his  Holiness 
replied  that  he  knew  very  well  you  were  determined  not  to  dissociate 
yourselves  from  the  King,  and  suddenly  rising,  he  would  not  hear 
another  word.  As  he  left  the  room  he  turned  to  me  and  said  :  "  Let 
Fra  Girolamo  preach  forsooth  !  I  should  never  have  believed  that 
you  would  have  treated  me  so  (Fate  pure  predicare  a  Fra  G.,  etc)." 
So  away  he  went,  leaving  Ser  Alexandro  and  myself  quite  nonplussed. 
The  Signory  may  now  see  how  things  stand,  and  what  are  their  hopes  in 
this  quarter.     I  await  instructions  what  to  do  next. 

The  letter  concludes  with  the  relation  of  an  audacious  attempt 
made  on  the  ambassador's  house,  a  few  days  previously,  by  a  certain 
Sienese.  The  motive  may  have  been  robbery,  or  something  worse 
may  have  been  intended.     The  burglar,  or  would-be  assassin,  appears 

*  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  li.  *  Gherardi,  p.  178. 


tHE  POPE  AND  THE  SIGNORY  290 

to  have  powerful  friends  at  his  back.     Such  is  the  security  of  life  and 
property  in  Rome. 

23rdf  February ;  The  Ten  to  Bonsi.' — As  you  know  the  facts  of  the 
case,  viz.  that  Fra  H.  is  preaching,  and  as  we  have  the  greatest 
confidence  in  your  prudence,  and  because,  as  you  may  well  conjecture, 
this  is  a  maiier  which  surpasses  the  limits  of  mere  nature  (questa  essere 
opera  che  excede  li  termini  naturali),  we  leave  everything  to  your 
discretion  ;  and  we  desire  you  to  thank  the  Bishop  of  Parma,  and  every- 
one else  who  may  be  helpful,  in  the  name  of  the  city. 

From  this  point  onwards  Bonsi  and  the  Ten  will  be  found  to  be 
in  great  measure  at  cross  purposes.  Bonsi,  who  had  gone  to  Rome 
as  a  firm  supporter  of  Savonarola,  now  saw  plainly  that  the  case  was 
hopeless,  at  least  from  a  diplomatic  point  of  view.  It  is  clear  that 
from  henceforth  he  found  his  mission  thoroughly  distasteful,  and  the 
attempt  on  his  property,  or  more  probably  on  his  life,  to  which  he 
refers  in  several  subsequent  letters,  but  which  need  not  be  again 
touched  upon  here,  did  not  tend  to  allay  his  irritation.  The  Ten,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  not  merely  convinced  of  the  justice  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  cause,  but  they  are  persuaded  that,  as  he  holds  his  com- 
mission from  God,  his  case  demands  quite  exceptional  treatment. 
Their  strong  feelings  on  this  point  seem  to  have  blinded  them 
to  the  common-sense  arguments  of  the  ambassador.  To  have 
determined  on  open  resistance  to  the  Pope  would  have  been  to 
take  an  intelligible  course ;  but  to  expect  the  Pope  to  condone 
their  support  of  Fra  Girolamo  in  opposition  to  his  express  commands 
was  rather  foolish,  as  Bonsi,  a  little  later,  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  them. 

25//;  February ;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten. 2 — Understanding  that  the  Pope  had 
been  speaking  in  very  honourable  terms  of  our  affairs  to  the  Bishop  of 
Arezzo  (Cosimo  de'  Pazzi)  who  has  recently  arrived  here,  I  sought  an 
audience  this  morning  in  the  hopes  of  finding  some  favourable  opening. 
The  Pope  called  me  to  him,  with  Ser  Alexandre  (Bracci),  and  we  saw 
him  in  company  with  Perugia,  Borgies  (m),  and  two  others.  He  began 
by  speaking  of  his  favourable  dispositions  towards  Florence,  and 
e.\pressed  his  surprise  that  the  Signory  should  make  so  little  account  of 
him  as  to  allow  Fra  G.  to  preach,  especially  considering  the  manner  of 
his  preaching  ;  and  then  he  repeated  to  me  a  great  part  of  what  he 
understood  that  the  Friar  had  said  on  the  nth  inst.  Neither  Turk  nor 
infidel,  he  declared,  would  tolerate  such  conduct,  and  he  charged  me  to 

1  Gherardi,  p.  179.  This  is  a  reply  to  his  letter  of  tlie  17th,  sumuKirised 
above. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  iSo. 


300  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

send  a  special  messeng^er  to  warn  you  that  he  will  place  the  whole  city 
under  an  interdict  if  efficacious  means  are  not  forthwith  taken  to  put  a 
stop  to  the  sermons.  He  spoke  of  Fra  G.  in  the  strongest  terms,  and 
with  extreme  indignation,  and  repeated  that  if  he  did  not  desist  before 
the  beginning  of  Lent,  the  interdict  would  most  certainly  be  declared. 
And  he  had  chosen  to  say  this  in  the  presence  of  their  prelates  in  order 
that  it  might  be  clearly  understood  that  he  would  by  no  means  change 
his  mind.  And  although  Ser  Alexandre  and  I  did  our  best  to  urge  what 
reasons  we  could,  we  were  so  severely  rebuked,  and  so  constantly 
interrupted,  that  we  could  make  no  way  at  all.  Then  his  Holiness 
caused  some  scurrilous  epigrams  (sonecti)  which  had  come  from 
Florence  to  be  read  aloud,  and  bitterly  complained  that  he  should 
be  made  the  theme  of  ballad-mongers  (lo  debbo  essere  cosi  messo  in 
sonecti  !).  We  said  that  if  such  things  were  laid  to  the  charge  of  Fra 
G.  it  was  a  calumny.  He,  however,  went  back  to  what  he  had  already 
affirmed  (about  the  interdict),  and  insisted  on  my  sending  off  the  special 
messenger  at  once.  And  in  fact  it  is  quite  useless  to  insist  on  the 
virtues  of  the  Friar  or  his  reasons  and  arguments  (sua  fondamenti),  for 
they  make  no  impression  here.  In  a  word,  it  is  necessary  that  you 
should  act  with  the  utmost  promptness  if  you  wish  to  escape  the 
interdict.  After  leaving  the  Palace,  I  had  yours  of  the  23rd.  As 
for  what  you  say  of  the  supernatural  character  of  Fra  Girolamo's 
work,  no  one  in  Rome  can  be  persuaded  of  this  ;  nor  is  it  of  any 
use  to  attempt  to  secure  the  support  of  any  one  here,  especially  of 
such  as  have  heard  what  he  has  said  against  the  Pope.  And  there  are 
always  plenty  of  people  eager  to  kindle  the  flame  of  indignation  against 
him  (che  mecte  stoppa  et  zolfanelli,  etc.).  I  understand  your  solicitude 
that  I  should  be  sparing  of  expense  in  correspondence,  and  it  is  only  at 
the  Pope's  urgent  command,  and  much  against  my  will,  that  I  now  send 
a  special  messenger.  Be  good  enough  to  send  your  letters  in  such  form 
that  they  can  be  shown  to  the  Pope,  according  to  the  usage  of  this  court. 

26//i  February  J  Same  to  same.'— Sends  two  Briefs,  the  contents  of 
which  he  has  been  unable  to  learn. 

ibth  February  J  The  Pope  to  the  Signory.^ — Recounts  how,  having 
long  since  heard  of  "  the  grave  and  pernicious  errors  of  that  son  of 
iniquity,  Fra  Hieronymo  Savonarola  of  Ferrara,"  he  had  summoned  him 
to  Rome,  had  forbidden  him  to  preach,  and  had  commanded  him  to 
submit  to  the  union  of  S.  Marco  with  the  Roman  or  Tuscan  Con- 
gregation, and  how  in  view  of  his  continued  disobedience  he  had 
commanded  that  he  should  be  publicly  declared  excommunicate  and 
regarded  as  such,  and  that  he  should  therefore  be  avoided  by  all.  Now 
he  hears  that,  disregarding  these  precepts,  Fra  H.  continues  to  preach, 
alleging  false  reasons  to  show  that  he  is  not  excommunicate,  and 
affirming  (damnabiliter  affirmando)  many  things  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
Catholic  faith  and  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See  ;  and,  moreover,  that  he 

*  Gherardi,  p.  180.  "  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  Ixvi. 


THE  POPE  AND  THE  SIGNORY  JOI 

floes  not  hesitate  to  take  part  in  public  processions  and  to  say  Mass 
and  administer  Holy  Communion  ;  and  further  that  very  many  of  the 
citizens  resort  to  his  sermons,  and  in  various  ways  show  him  favour  and 
support,  and  this  with  the  permission  of  the  Signory,  from  whom  better 
things  might  have  been  expected.  We  therefore  strictly  command  you 
to  send  Fra  Hieronymo  to  us,  promising  that  if  he  shall  come,  and  shall 
show  himself  penitent  (ad  cor  rediret),  we  will— both  for  your  sake  and 
because  we  will  not  the  death  of  the  sinner,  etc.— receive  and  treat  him 
kindly.  Or  at  the  least  we  command  you  to  confine  him  "as  a  rotten 
member"  in  some  private  place,  where  he  may  be  cut  off  from  all 
communication  with  others.  And  if  these  precepts  be  not  observed,  and 
you  continue  to  support  him  (hominem  ita  pernitiosum,  excommunica 
tum  et  publico  nuntiatum  ac  de  h;Eresi  suspectum),  we  shall  lay  your 
city  under  an  interdict,  or  even  proceed  to  more  severe  measures. 

27///  February;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.'— He  has  had  an  audience,  and  has 
heard  the  substance  of  the  Brief.  His  Holiness  added  that  //  Fra  G. 
would  obey,  and  would  abstain  from  preaching  after  a  short  time  he  would 
absolve  him  from  all  censures.  This  he  repeated,  repeating  also  his 
threats,  and  this  with  such  indignation  that  it  is  plain  that  if  the  Friar 
does  not  obey,  all  our  attempts  to  justify  his  conduct  will  go  for  nothing. 

27th  February  J  Somenzi  to  Sforza.''^- To-day,  being  the  Carnival  day, 
the  Friar  has  caused  a  procession  to  be  made,  after  the  same  fashion  as 
in  recent  years,  in  which  the  greater  part  of  the  people  took  part  ;  but 
many  went  rather  out  of  curiosity  than  from  devotion.  The  followers  of 
the  Friar  each  carried  an  olive  branch  that  they  might  be  known  from 
the  rest.  After  a  somewhat  detailed  description  of  the  ceremony, 
including  the  bonfire,  the  writer  relates  the  attempts  of  the  Compagnacci 
(certi  giovani  cittadini,  di  quelli  sono  adversarii  del  Frate,  etc.)  to 
interrupt  the  proceedings  and  destroy  the  pyramid  of  vanities,  attempts 
which  were  frustrated  by  the  guard  appointed  by  the  Signory.  The 
enemies  of  the  Friar  are,  however,  in  high  spirits,  for  the  new  Signory 
(which  was  to  enter  upon  its  term  of  office  on  ist  March)  is  composed  of 
five,  or  perhaps  six,  who  are  hostile  to  him,  as  against  three  who  belong 
to  the  party  of  his  supporters.  The  writer  concludes  by  apologising  for 
troubling  his  master  with  such  trumpery  matters. 

ist  March ;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.^— After  a  long  paragraph  about  the  affair 
of  Pisa,  the  writer  records  how  the  Venetian  Ambassador  has  told  the 
Pope  that  he  may  judge,  from  the  license  accorded  to  Fra  G.,  in  what 
esteem  his  Holiness  is  held  by  the  Florentines.  But  the  Pope  replied 
that  if  only  the  Florentines  would  act  in  accordance  with  a  Brief  which 
he  had  just  sent,  this  business  would  not  greatly  trouble  him. 

2nd  March;  Same  to  same.*— The  Pope  is  most  favourably  disposed, 
and  desirous  that  Pisa  should  be  restored,  and  as  for  the  efforts  of  the 
Venetian  Ambassador  to  slir  up  bad  blood  by  referring  to  the  affair  of 


»  Gheraidi,  p.  183.  -  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  li. 

»  Gherardi,  p.  1S4.  *  Gherardi,  p.  185. 


302  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Savonarola,  his  Holiness  is  determined  that  no  insult  to  himself  per- 
sonally shall  cause  him  to  oppose  the  common  good  of  Italy,  especially 
as  he  takes  for  granted  that  the  Signory  will  obey  his  commands  as  set 
forth  in  the  Brief. 

2nd  March  ;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.^— Yesterday  the  new  Signory  entered 
on  their  new  term  of  office,  of  whom  six  are  hostile  to  the  Friar.  The 
Pope  has  sent  a  Brief  to  the  Signory,  etc.  Also  another  to  the  Canons 
of  the  Cathedral,  ordering  them  to  make  it  publicly  known  that  all  who 
have  incurred  censures  by  going  to  hear  the  Friar's  sermons,  may  be 
absolved  on  condition  that  they  will  take  an  oath  not  to  go  again. 
These  Canons  are  to  be  appointed  with  faculties  to  absolve  in  casu. 
But  any  one  who  shall  thereafter  go  to  hear  Fra  H.  shall  be  ipso  facto 
excommunicate,  and  the  censure  is  "reserved"  to  his  Holiness.  The 
Friar,  hearing  of  this,  has  of  his  own  accord  ceased  to  preach  in  the 
Cathedral,  and  has  betaken  himself  to  S.  Marco,  whither,  however,  the 
majority  of  his  former  hearers  now  resort,  and  among  them  the  ambassador 
of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  (Manfredi),  and  the  whole  of  the  Ten  and  the 
Eight,  together  with  others  of  the  city  officials.^  A  Pratica  has  been 
held  upon  the  Pope's  Brief,  and  the  issue  of  the  debate  was,  that  the 
Signory  should  reply  that  they  had  not  thought  it  well  to  take  any 
fresh  steps  in  the  matter,  persuaded  as  they  are  that  the  Pope  would 
not  have  written  as  he  has  done  if  he  had  been  aware  of  the  virtuous  life 
of  the  Friar,  and  of  the  admirable  fruits  of  moral  reformation  brought 
about  by  his  preaching.  They  can  take  no  action  against  him  unless 
some  scandal  should  arise,  and  therefore  they  pray  the  Pope  to  hold 
them  excused.  As  for  his  having  preached  false  doctrine,  this  is  a 
calumny.  This  letter,  adds  Somenzi,  has  been  written  in  the  name  of 
the  Signory,  and  the  Signory  has  given  its  consent  solely— so  far  as  he  can 
understand— in  order  that  the  Pope  may  be  instigated  to  take  more 
effective  measures,  and  that  the  lie  may  thus  be  given  to  those  who  go 
about  saying  that  his  Holiness  does  not  act/r<?/r/<?  «zt7/2^  in  this  affair. 
They  think,  also,  that  if  the  Pope  does  issue  an  interdict  their  hands  will 
be  greatly  strengthened,  and  they  will  be  able  to  proceed  against  Fra 
H.  with  a  greater  show  of  justice,  and  with  greater  vigour.^ 

The  minutes  of  the  Pratica  of  which  Somenzi  speaks,  have  been 
published  by  Lupi,'*  and  it  is  plain  from  them  that  a  majority  were  in 

1  Villari,  p.  liii. 

'^  The  Ten  and  the  Eight  held  office  for  a  longer  period  than  the  Sii^nory. 
Hence  it  mit^ht  happen  that,  as  was  now  actually  the  case,  the  Signory  and  the  Ten 
(or  the  Eight)  might  represent  opposite  political  parties.     See  infra,  pp.  317-18. 

*  The  Pratica  was  held  on  3rd  March,  and  the  letter  of  the  Sit^nory  was  sent 
on  the  same  day.  On  the  other  hand,  Somenzi's  letter  bears  the  date  2nd  March, 
and  must  have  been  commenced  on  that  day,  as  its  opening  words  ("Her!  Intro 
la  Signoria  nova,"  etc.)  clearly  imply.  The  apparent  discrepancy  is  explained  if  we 
suppose  that  the  letter  was  not  finished  and  despatched  until  a  day  or  two  later. 

*  Lupi,  p.  30. 


THE  POPE  AND  THE  SIGNORY  303 

favour  of  representations  being  made  to  the  Pope  on  behalf  of  Fra 
Girolamo.  The  reasons  given  are  various.  The  Pope  has  been  mis- 
informed ;  he  does  not  specify  any  false  doctrine  in  particular ;  the 
demands  of  his  Holiness  are  dishonourable  to  the  city — he  would  not, 
it  is  averred,  have  written  in  this  style  to  the  citizens  of  Perugia ;  the 
Brief  has  been  obtained  by  the  enemies  of  Florence ;  and  lastly,  to  carry 
out  its  prescriptions  would  lead  to  a  tumult,  such  is  the  popularity  of 
the  Friar.  Whether  the  motives  which  induced  the  Signory  to  allow 
such  a  letter  as  that  which  follows  to  be  written  in  their  name  were 
really  those  which  Somenzi  ascribes  to  them,  it  is  obviously  im- 
possible now  to  determine.  But  subsequent  letters  of  Sforza's  agents 
suggest  that  some  at  least  of  their  magnificent  lordships  were  quite 
capable  of  this  meanness. 

^rd  March;  The  Signory  to  the  Pope.>— As  soon  as  Savonarola 
received  news  of  the  Brief  of  your  Holiness,  wherein  he  is  called  a 
"son  of  iniquity,"  he  immediately  withdrew  from  the  cathedral  to  his 
own  monastery,  in  the  hope  that  your  anger  would  be  mitigated,  when 
you  should  understand  that  the  accusations  laid  to  his  charge  are  false. 
We  can  bear  witness  that  he  is  an  admirable  worker  in  the  Lord's 
vineyard,  and  one  who  has  gathered  therefrom  such  fruits  as  none  other 
has  been  able  to  gather.  For  eight  years  he  has  preached  in  our  midst, 
foretelling  future  things,  and  effecting  a  great  moral  reformation, 
whereby  he  has  stirred  up  against  himself  the  enmity  of  many  perverse 
men,  who  never  cease  to  multiply  false  accusations  against  him.  We 
regret  to  be  unable  to  comply  with  the  demands  of  your  Holiness  (i) 
by  reason  of  the  debt  of  gratitude  which  we  owe  to  a  man  who  has 
deserved  well  of  us,  and  which  it  would  be  dishonourable  to  the  city 
to  disown  ;  (2)  because  we  could  not  take  steps  against  him  without  the 
greatest  danger  of  popular  disturbances.  We  acknowledge  the  goodwill 
of  your  Holiness  towards  us,  whereof  we  have  recently  had  gratifying 
assurances  through  our  ambassador,  and  we  pray  you  not  to  be  incensed 
against  a  city  so  loyal  to  you,  and  not  to  insist  upon  our  doing  that 
which  would  be  to  our  grievous  detriment. 

Same  date;  The  Ten  to  Bonsi.- — While  forwarding  through  him 
the  answer  of  the  Signory  to  the  Pope,  they  take  the  opportunity  of 
confirming  what  is  said  in  that  document  by  their  own  testimony  to  the 
admirable  fruits  produced  by  Savonarola's  preaching.  The  worst  results 
are  to  be  feared  if  his  Holiness  allows  himself  to  be  persuaded  by  the 
false  insinuations  of  their  enemies  to  insist  upon  the  execution  of  his 
demands.     Such  a  course  will  neither  tend  to  the  general  welfare  of 


1  Marchese,  n.  19.     Gherardi,  p.   186,  points  out  that  the  above  is  the  true 
date. 

2  Gherardi,  p.  1S7. 


304  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Italy,  nor  will  it  further,  so  far  as  the  writers  can  see,  any  private  and 
personal  interest  of  his  Holiness. 

Same  date ;  The  Same  to  Pepi.^ — Informs  him  of  what  has  recently 
taken  place  in  regard  of  Savonarola,  and  of  the  answer  made  by  the 
Signory  to  the  Brief  If  the  Duke  (Sforza)  is  misinformed  on  these 
matters,  Pepi  is  to  let  him  know  the  truth. 

yth  March;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.''' — Having  received  the  letters  of  the 
3rd  inst,  and  the  reply  of  the  Signory  to  the  Pope,  he  went  at  once 
with  Bracci  to  seek  an  audience.  On  the  way  they  met  the  Cardinal  of 
Perugia,  who  expressed  a  doubt  whether  the  Pope  would  be  satisfied 
with  such  an  answer,  but  recommended  them  to  execute  their  commis- 
sion. The  Pope  made  the  Bishop  of  Parma  (Sforza's  envoy)  read  aloud 
the  letter  of  the  Signory,  and  declared  that  he  was  astonished  at  such  a 
reply.  It  was,  he  said,  a  wicked  letter  (una  trista  lettera),  and  one 
which  belied  its  own  expressions  of  loyalty.  As  for  his  being  mis- 
informed about  Savonarola's  preaching,  his  sermons  were  in  print, 
and  he  had  read  in  them  the  passages  in  which  Fra  G.  made  light  of 
the  excommunication,  and  spoke  of  him  as  "a  broken  tool,"  and  said 
that  he  would  rather  go  to  hell  than  seek  absolution,  and  reproached  him 
with  the  death  of  his  son  (the  Duke  of  Gandia).^  As  for  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Friar  to  S.  Marco,  in  the  first  place  this  was  not  done 
by  order  of  the  Signory  ;  and  secondly,  the  withdrawal  was  to  no  purpose 
if  he  continued  to  preach  at  S.  Marco.  "Moreover,  the  letter  gave  no 
guarantee  that  he  would  not  return  to  the  Duomo.  He  would,  then,  be 
quite  justified  in  forthwith  declaring  the  interdict ;  nevertheless,  he  would 
give  them  another  chance,  but  if  they  did  not  obey  at  once,  the  inter- 
dict would  certainly  be  declared.  We  did  our  best  to  speak  in  the  Friar's 
defence,  praising  his  life  and  doctrine  ;  but  the  Pope  said  that  he  did  not 
find  fault  with  sound  doctrine,  but  with  obstinate  disobedience,  and 
contempt  of  the  Holy  See.  As  for  the  reasons  alleged  against  the 
validity  of  the  excommunication,  he  only  ridiculed  them  (facevasi  beffe). 
Accordingly,  adds  Bonsi,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  make  good  use  of 
the  short  time  that  is  left  to  you  for  submission,  otherwise  the  interdict 
will  surely  be  pronounced.  Parma,  who  stayed  with  the  Pope  after  we 
had  left,  declared  to  us  on  oath  that  there  is  no  other  way  out  of  the 
difficulty  but  to  make  some  show  of  obedience  by  putting  a  stop  to  the 
sermons  for  a  time,  or  by  somehow  inducing  the  Friar  to  seek  for  absolu- 
tion. If  only  this  can  be  done,  the  Pope  will  not  t/ierea/ter  refuse  him 
permission  to  preach.  You  must  understand  that  the  whole  court  is 
against  us,  and  Parma  tells  me  that  Piero  de'  Medici  and  the  Venetian 
ambassador  are  both  doing  their  utmost   (offerendo   al    Papa  partiti). 


^  Gherardi,  p.  188.  Francesco  Pepi  was  the  Florentine  ambassador  at  the 
Court  of  Milan. 

"  Marchese,  n.  20. 

=*  All  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  sermons  preached  on  Septiiagesima  and  Sexa- 
gesima  Sundays  149S  {supra,  chap.  xiv.). 


THE  POPE  AND  THE  SIGNORY  30$ 

The  Pope  is  persuaded  that  the  letter  of  the  Signory  was  dictated  by 
Fra  G.  The  style,  he  said,  was  just  his.  Of  course  we  said  we  did  not 
believe  that  it  was  so.  In  a  word,  we  are  falling  more  and  more 
deeply  into  disgrace. 

c)th  March;  The  Same  to  the  Signory.'— The  Pope  has  addressed 
another  Brief  to  your  Lordships,  which  I  send,  as  commanded,  by  special 
messenger.  It  is  now  absolutely  necessary  that  you  should  satisfy  his 
Holiness,  who  has  declared  to  me  that  if  only  Fra  Girolamo  will  obey, 
and  will  cease  from  preaching  for  a  while,  he  will  absolve  him,  and  suffer 
him  to  preach  again.  But  if  he  goes  on  with  your  permission,  and 
especially  if  he  continues  to  speak  contemptuously  of  the  Pope,  there  is 
no  hope  whatever  ;  and  if  you  are  going  to  resist  the  Pope  in  this  matter, 
you  might  as  well  recall  your  ambassador.  Capaccio  is  doing  his  best 
for  you,  and  except  for  this  matter  the  Pope  is  well  disposed.  Pray 
write  him  a  submissive  letter,  and  thank  him  for  his  goodwill  towards 
the  city. 

Same  date;  The  Pope  to  the  Signory.— Your  reply  to  our  Brief  has 
filled  us  with  astonishment.  You  speak  in  defence  of  Fra  H.,  but  as 
good  Catholics  you  ought  first  to  have  obeyed,  and  then,  if  you  wished  to 
do  so,  you  might  have  recommended  him  to  our  favour.  As  for  what 
you  say  about  his  virtuous  life  and  the  fruits  of  his  preaching,  these  things 
we  have  never  disapproved,  nor  do  we  7iow  disapprove  them.  On  the  con- 
trary, we  greatly  commend  such  good  works,  which  are  most  pleasing  to 
us  J  but  we  condemn  his  obstinacy,  and  his  pride,  and  his  mischievous  bold- 
ness, which  he  shows  in  contemning  ecclesiastical  censures,  and  in  lead- 
ing others  to  contemn  them,  so  that  he  has  infected  almost  the  whole 
city  with  the  poison  of  his  evil  example.  The  Pope  goes  on  to  speak 
of  the  "vain  and  sophistical  arguments"  whereby  the  Friar  presumes  to 
support  his  contention  that  the  sentence  is  null  and  void,  and  to  condemn 
his  asseveration  that  he  would  rather  be  lost  eternally  than  seek  absolu- 
tion. "  You  must  not,"  he  adds,  "  allow  yourselves  to  suppose  that  we  have 
been  led  to  pronounce  sentence  upon  him  by  malicious  suggestions. 
What  you  have  written  about  him  inspires  us  with  sentiments  of  paternal 
love  and  compassion,  but  we  grieve  that  he  has  been  misled  by  we  know 
not  what  spirit  of  pride  into  his  present  contumacious  course  of  action. 
The  keys  were  given  by  Christ  to  S.  Peter  principaliter j  wherefore 
whoever  declares  himself  to  be  independent  of  ecclesiastical  censures, 
cuts  himself  off  entirely  from  Christ.  You  must  not  wonder,  then,  if, 
having  tolerated  him  so  far,  we  can  do  so  no  longer.  Wherefore,  for  the 
last  time,  we  warn  and  command  you  either  to  send  him  to  us  forthwith, 
or  to  confine  him  in  his  monastery  in  such  a  fashion  that  he  shall  hold 
no  intercourse  with  any  one  until,  brought  to  a  better  mind,  he  shall 
deserve  absolution.  If  you  act  otherwise  you  will  not  be  consulting 
either  your  own  interests  or  that  of  Fra  Hieronymo." 

^  Gherardi,  p.  192.  We  omit  a  short  letter  written  on  7th  March  to  the 
Signory.  It  only  confirms  what  Bonsi  has  said  at  much  greater  length  to 
the  Ten, 

U 


3o6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

loth  March ;  Cardinal  Ascanio  Sforza  to  the  Duke  of  Milan.' — You 
have  already  been  informed  of  the  vehement  indignation  of  his  Holiness 
concerning  the  sermons  and  most  wicked  conduct  (opere  piene  di 
iniquita  !)  of  Fra  H.  at  Florence.  After  speaking  of  the  efforts  made  to 
mitigate  the  Pope's  anger,  and  of  the  first  Brief,  the  writer  goes  on  to 
speak  of  letters  "de  una  mala  natura"  received  by  the  Pope  from 
Savonarola  himself,  which  put  the  Pope  into  such  a  state  of  commotion, 
that  Parma  could  with  difficulty  calm  him.  I  am  deeply  grieved,  he 
adds,  to  see  the  effects  of  all  the  good  offices  of  the  Pope  towards  the 
Florentines  threatened  with  destruction  in  consequence  of  this  affair. 
As  for  me,  I  have  recently  persuaded  the  Pope  to  send  another  Brief  in 
order  to  help  forward  the  good  work  of  crushing  the  wickedness  of  Fra 
Hieronymo  (!). 

It  might  perhaps  be  concluded  from  the  above  that  Savonarola's 
letter,  which  we  shall  presently  quote,  was  really  despatched  some 
days  earlier  than  the  date  (13th  March)  which  it  bears.  But  it  seems 
to  us  more  probable  that  Ascanio  misunderstood  some  reported 
words  of  the  Pope,  which  really  had  reference  to  former  letters  of 
Fra  Girolamo,  as  if  they  had  been  occasioned  by  a  document 
recently  received.  For  the  rest,  Ascanio's  letter  is  a  specimen,  which 
it  would  not  be  easy  to  better,  of  the  base  hypocrisy  with  which  men, 
themselves  steeped  in  vice,  and  a  disgrace  to  their  ecclesiastical  calling, 
could  hold  up  their  hands  in  pious  horror  at  the  "  wickedness  "  of 
the  preacher,  misguided  though  one  may  believe  him  to  have  been. 

loth  March;  The  Ten  to  Bonsi.^ — We  are  greatly  rejoiced  to  hear 
of  the  kind  words  spoken  by  the  Pope  about  Fra  H.  But  now  we  under- 
stand that  on  the  presentation  of  the  reply  to  his  Brief  (that  of  26th 
February),  his  Holiness  showed  himself  somewhat  displeased  (essersi  di 
nuovo  alquanto  risentita).  Therefore  we  exhort  you  to  use  your  best 
efforts  to  represent  matters  in  a  favourable  light,  so  that  the  Pope  may 
understand  that  the  words  used  by  Savonarola  do  not  go  beyond  what  is 
customary  with  zealous  preachers  (!).  The  rest  of  the  letter  is  chiefly 
concerned  with  Pisa. 

\bth  March;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.' — He  would  very  much  like  to  be 
gifted  with  such  perspicacity  as  would  enable  him  to  perceive  in  their  letters 
reasons  strong  enough  to  make  good  their  cause.  They  speak  of  being 
rejoiced  to  hear  of  the  favourable  terms  in  which  the  Pope  has  spoken 
of  Fra  G.  It  will  be  time  to  rejoice  when  Fra  G.  has  shown  his 
obedience  by  remaining  silent  at  least  for  a  time.     Considering  that,  if 

'  Villari,  p.  Iv.  Ascanio  was  Lodovico's  brother,  an  ecclesiastic  of  scandalous 
life,  like  too  many  of  his  contemporaries. 

^  Gherardi,  p.  197.  This  letter  was  written,  of  course,  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Brief  of  9th  March. 

"  Gherardi,  p.  198. 


THE  POPE  AND  THE  SIGNORY  307 

he  fails  to  do  this,  the  interdict  will  certainly  follow,  the  writer  quite  fails 
to  see  what  {,'roiinds  they  have  for  rejoicing.  It  is  impossible  that  what 
they  write  should  satisfy  his  Holiness.  As  for  arguments  to  prove  the 
nullity  of  the  censure,  every  one  here  rejects  and  ridicules  them.  You 
must  not  suppose  that  the  authorities  will  allow  their  powers  to  be  called 
in  question,  which  powers  are  exercised  for  the  most  part  in  the  infliction 
of  censures.'  The  printed  sermons  of  the  Friar  have  so  exasperated  the 
minds  of  men  here,  that  there  is  absolutely  no  remedy  but  submission. 
Perugia  tells  me  it  is  of  no  use  to  talk  about  Pisa  till  this  matter  is 
settled  ;  and  he  urges  that  to  silence  Fra  G.  for  a  time,  and  to  forbid  him 
ever  again  to  speak  contemptuously  of  the  Pope,  is  a  very  little  thing  for 
his  Holiness  to  ask  of  the  Signory.  And  every  one  else  is  of  the  same 
opinion,  i.e.  that  you  must  absolutely  obey. 

We  have  given  the  last  two  letters  in  immediate  succession 
because  the  latter  of  them  is  a  reply  to  the  former,  but  intermediate 
between  the  two  is  a  letter  from  Savonarola  to  Alexander  VI.,  which 
shows  that  he  at  least  had  no  sympathy  with  the  efforts  that  were 
being  made  by  his  friends,  and  by  others  from  political  motives,  on 
his  behalf. 

13M  March;  Savonarola  to  the  Pope.- — I  had  always  supposed  that 
it  was  the  office  of  a  good  Christian  to  defend  the  faith,  and  to  work  for 
the  reform  of  morals  ;  but  in  carrying  out  this  work  I  have  met  with 
nothing  but  trials  and  tribulations  ;  I  have  not  found  one  to  help  me.  1 
had  hoped  in  your  Holiness  ;  but  instead  of  this  you  have  turned  against 
me,  and  have  put  it  into  the  power  of  savage  wolves  to  wreak  their 
cruelty  on  me.  Nor  has  any  hearing  been  given  to  the  reasons  which  I 
have  alleged,  not  to  excuse  a  sin,  but  to  prove  the  truth  of  my  doctrine, 
my  innocence,  and  my  submission  to  the  Church.  Wherefore  I  cannot 
hope  any  longer  in  your  Holiness,  but  I  must  have  recourse  to  Him 
alone  who  chooses  the  weak  things  of  this  world  to  confound  the 
strong.  .  .  .  He  will  help  me  to  prove  and  maintain,  in  the  face  of 
the  world,  the  holiness  of  this  undertaking  for  which  I  suffer  so  much, 
and  will  inflict  condign  punishment  on  those  who  persecute  me,  and  seek 
to  hinder  my  work.  As  for  me,  I  do  not  seek  the  glory  of  this  world, 
but  I  look  for  and  desire  death.  Your  Holiness  will  do  well  not  to 
procrastinate  longer,  but  to  make  provision  for  your  own  salvation. 

On  14th  March  was  held  the  most  important  debate,  beyond 
comparison,  of  all  that  had  hitherto  been  held  in  connection  with 
the  affairs  of  Fra  Girolamo.  Its  occasion  was  the  receipt  of  the 
Brief  of  9th  March,  and  it  is  of  so  much  interest,  as  giving  an  insight 
into  the  state  of  public  opinion  at  this  critical  juncture,  as  to  deserve 
separate  treatment. 

^  "Dovete  credere  che  non  si  supporterebbe  in  alcuno  modo  si  disputassi  della 
lore  auctoritd,  le  quale  consiste  per  la  maggior  parte  nelle  censure." 
*  Villari,  ii.  129. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A    FULL-DRESS    DEBATE 

THE  Pratica,  or  debate,  which  was  held  in  the  Collegio  on 
14th  March  1498,  was  regarded  on  all  hands  as  of  quite 
exceptional  importance.  The  number  of  speakers  was  unusually 
large,  and  in  fact  every  phase  of  opinion  appears  to  have  had  full 
expression.  The  minutes  of  the  discussion  have  been  published  by 
Lupi,  and  they  give  so  thorough  an  insight  into  the  state  of  feeling 
among  different  sections  of  the  Council  of  Eighty,  and  of  the  office- 
holders of  the  day,  that  no  apology  seems  to  be  needed  for  giving  in 
this  place  a  somewhat  full  summary  of  the  official  report.  The 
grammar  of  the  reporter  is  occasionally  at  fault,  and  sentences  are 
not  unfrequently  left  without  the  conclusion  which  the  sense  requires. 
While,  therefore,  in  all  important  passages  we  adhere  as  faithfully  as 
possible  to  the  very  words  of  the  speaker  as  reported,  in  other  cases 
we  have  been  obliged  to  paraphrase  somewhat  freely. 

It  will  be  understood  that  each  speaker  delivers  not  merely  his 
own  personal  opinion,  but  that  of  the  majority  of  his  panchata,  or 
bench.  Naturally,  however,  a  spokesman  would  in  each  case  be 
chosen  whose  individual  views  agreed  with  those  of  the  majority. 
Occasionally  the  minority  also  put  up  a  representative,  and  some- 
times the  speaker  adds  a  few  words  on  his  own  account.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  various  boards  of  officials  are  heard  in  the  first  instance, 
and  after  them  the  several  benches  of  the  Ottanta. 

Of  the  Gonfalonieri,  nine,  whose  spokesman  is  not  named,  are  of 
opinion  that  the  Pope  has  acted  in  a  fatherly  manner  ("si  governi 
verso  di  noi  come  buon  padre  "),  and  that  as  he  has  so  clearly 
expressed  his  wish,  a  stop  should  at  once  be  put  to  the  sermons, 
lest  out  of  a  small  affair  a  greater  should  arise.  For  assuredly  an 
interdict  is  a  great  matter,  and  much  to  be  feared,  since  it  exposes 
men  to  be  plundered  and  treated  as  outlaws. 

Seven  of  the  Gonfalonieri,  however,  declare  their  conviction, 

803 


A  FULL-DRESS  DEBATE  309 

through  Luigi  Corsi,  that  in  view  of  the  immense  services  rendered 
by  Fra  Girolanio  to  the  city,  he  ouglit  by  no  means  to  be  treated 
harshly. 

Let  the  Brief,  and  the  will  of  his  Holiness  be  communicated  to  him, 
and  let  him  be  exhorted  to  act  according  to  his  conscience,  and  probably 
he  will,  of  his  own  accord,  desist  from  preaching.  If  he  does  not,  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  any  one  would  wish  to  hinder  the  Word  of  God.  Some 
of  those  who  have  done  so  in  times  past  have  come  to  a  bad  end.  We 
must  defend  the  liberties  and  the  honour  of  our  city,  which  we  shall  not 
be  doing  if  we  take  action  against  a  servant  of  God  like  Fra  H.  As  for 
the  Pope,  it  is  to  be  thought  that  he  will  change  his  mind  if  we  write  to 
him  setting  forth  the  holiness  of  the  Friar's  life  and  teaching. 

Niccolo  Valori  (for  the  Twelve).'— It  seems  to  us  that  the  Pope  is 
e.xceeding  his  powers,  especially  as  he  has  pronounced  that  the  Friar's 
doctrine  is  good.  We  ought  not  to  be  in  like  manner  prejudiced  against 
him,  considering  his  labours  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

Giovanni  Canacci  (pro  XII.  designatis).-' — With  reference  to  this 
Brief  we  bear  in  mind  that  he  who  sends  it  is  God's  Vicar,  who  holds 
universal  jurisdiction  ;  that  we  to  whom  it  is  sent  are  the  weakest  of  the 
five  powers  of  Italy  ;  that  we  live  by  our  merchandise,  and  that  our 
merchants  are  everywhere  to  be  found.  We  are,  therefore,  decidedly  of 
opinion  that  the  preaching  should  at  once  be  stopped,  and  all  intercourse 
of  the  citizens  with  Fra  G.  be  forbidden.  And,  in  fact,  it  is  better  both  for 
us  and  for  him  that  political  matters  should  be  discussed  in  the  Palazzo 
rather  than  in  his  convent.  As  for  himself,  the  speaker  is  strongly  of 
opinion  that  the  Friar  ought  to  be  confined  to  his  cell.  It  is  no  disgrace 
to  the  city  to  give  to  the  Pope  what  belongs  to  the  Pope.  The  evil  conse- 
quences of  the  detention,  or  usurpation,  of  what  belongs  to  another  are 
shown  by  the  example  of  Helen  of  Troy  (!),  etc.,  etc. 

Antonio  della  Vigna  (pro  capitaneis  partis  Guelfe). — On  the  one  hand, 
no  one  would  wish  to  speak  of  Fra  G.  otherwise  than  with  reverence,  or 
to  say  anything  but  what  is  good  of  him.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  after 
weighing  all  considerations,  and  considering  that  our  ambassador 
has  done  his  utmost  for  the  Friar,  and  now  counsels  obedience,  it  seems 
best  on  the  whole  to  obey  the  Pope. 

Paolantonio  Soderini  (for  the  Ten). — My  Lords  are  much  displeased 
with  the  Brief,  which  does  not  show  sufficient  regard  for  the  dignity  and 
welfare  of  the  city.     Such  a  Brief  would  not  have  been  sent  to  Perugia. 

^  The  twelve  "  Buoni  Uoniini,"  who  acted  as  assessors  of  the  Signory,  and 
seem  to  have  had  no  other  official  duties  (Villari,  i.  261). 

-  The  new  board  of  Twelve,  who  had,  as  it  appears,  already  been  elected, 
but  had  not  yet  entered  on  their  office.  We  learn  from  one  of  Somenzi's  letters 
(i6th  March,  infra)  that  they  were  all  hostile  to  Savonarola.  Canacci  was  one 
of  the  commission  subsequently  appointed  to  examine  Savonarola  and  his 
companions. 


3IO  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

And  if  the  Pope  has  not  considered  our  honour,  at  least  let  the  Signory 
defend  the  honour  of  God.  The  whole  affair  proceeds  from  the  astuteness 
of  our  enemies,  and  tends  to  the  disturbance  of  the  city.  If  God  has 
miraculously  supported  us  till  now  [it  is  to  be  thought  that  He  will  con- 
tinue to  do  so].i  The  best  plan  will  be  to  write,  not  to  the  Pope,  but  to 
our  ambassador,  to  the  effect  that  we  are  ready  to  yield  in  all  lawful 
matters,  but  that  when  it  is  a  question  of  demands  suggested  by  rival 
powers  {i.e.  Venice  and  Milan)  we  shall  hold  ourselves  excused  before 
God  and  man.  This  is  the  stone  of  offence  which  has  been  cast  in  our 
midst  to  bring  the  city  to  ruin,  and  the  Signory  should  be  mindful  of  their 
duty.  The  letter  of  our  ambassador  would  give  just  cause  for  indignation, 
were  it  not  that  he  had  previously  reported  the  loving  dispositions  of  the 
Pope  towards  us. 

Ser  Baldo  (for  the  Eight).— All  my  colleagues  adhere  to  the  teaching  of 
Fra  H.,  and  the  Pope's  words  confirm  their  conviction.  All,  therefore, 
except  one,  judge  that  we  ought  to  suffer  him  to  continue  to  preach, 
especially  as  Lent  is  now  nearly  half  over.  We  think  you  ought  to  act  as 
you  have  been  advised  (by  Soderini).  One  of  us,  however,  is  of  opinion 
that  the  preaching  should  be  interrupted  for  a  while,  in  order  to  avoid 
arousing  the  Pope's  anger. 

Lorenzo  de'  Lenzi  ("  pro  officialibus  Montis  "). — My  colleagues  are 
indignant  at  the  Brief  and  at  the  ambassador's  letter  ;  for  while  on  the 
one  hand  the  critical  state  of  our  affairs  makes  it  important  that  we  should 
secure  the  Pope's  goodwill,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  intolerable  to  hear  it 
proposed  that  this  venerable  religious  should  be  arrested  at  his  command, 
and  should  be  separated  from  so  noble  a  house  of  religion.  The  speaker 
enlarges  on  the  excellence  (tucta  perfectione)  of  Savonarola's  doctrine,  the 
moral  reform  which  he  has  effected,  and  the  deep  debt  of  gratitude  which 
the  city  owes  him.  He  declares,  on  his  own  part  and  that  of  his  colleagues, 
that  it  is  the  Friar's  sermons  which  have  saved  the  republic  from  ruin. 
To  him  they  owe  the  preservation  of  peace,  and  the  institution  of  the  Con- 
siglio  Grande,  which  has  been  a  bulwark  alike  against  the  tyranny  of  an 
oligarchy  and  against  revolutionary  measures  (di  non  far  grandi  e  di  non 
far  novitk).  Moreover,  we  ought  to  esteem  God  more  than  all  others,  for 
He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth.  My  brethren  are  unanimously  of  opinion 
that  on  no  account  ought  we  to  put  ourselves  in  opposition  to  Christ,  for 
God  alone  has  supported  us  hitherto.  We  advise  that  the  Brief  be  com- 
municated to  the  Friar,  and  he  be  allowed  to  take  his  own  course.  If  the 
interdict  should  come,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  God  has  delivered  us 
from  worse  evils,  as  when  the  Emperor  came  to  take  part  in  the  Pisan 
war.     God  has  ever  saved  us,  and  He  will  not  now  abandon  us. 

Francesco  degli  Alessandri  (pro  Conservatoribus)  would  prefer  to  leave 
the  matter  to  the  discretion  of  the  Signory. 

Guidantonio  Vespucci  (pro  doctoribus,  i.e.  the  lawyers). — He  speaks  on 


1     The  reporter  has  evidently  fused  two  sentences  here,  the  first  of  which  requires 
to  be  completed  as  above. 


A  FULL-DRESS  DEBATE  311 

behalf  of  five  ;  the  minority  will  speak  for  themselves.  The  five  are  much 
displeased  with  the  Brief;  for  they  would  have  wished  that  every  one 
should  have  enjoyed  all  spiritual  consolations  during  this  Lent.  Yet,  con- 
sidering the  critical  state  of  affairs,  and  that  private  interest  must  yield  to 
public,  and  computing  probable  losses  and  gains,  they  conclude  that,  on 
the  whole,  obedience  is  the  wiser  course.  To  ask  the  Pope,  as  they  are 
doing,  to  grant  them  favours  in  the  matter  of  Pisa,  and  of  a  tithe  to  be 
levied  on  the  clergy,  and  at  the  same  time  to  resist  his  solemn  commands, 
is  to  pursue  a  self-contradictory  policy.  On  the  other  hand,  no  one  need 
have  a  scruple  about  inhibiting  the  sermons,  as  if  thereby  we  were  resisting 
God,  for  this  would  be  done  by  legitimate  authority.  Nor  is  it  to  the  pur- 
pose to  compare  Savonarola  with  S.  Bernardino,  for  he  was  not  forbidden 
by  the  Pope  to  preach.  It  has  been  alleged  that  the  threat  of  an  interdict 
is  a  light  matter.  I  cannot  take  this  view  of  the  case,  for  ecclesiastical 
censures  are  the  only  arms  which  the  Pope  can  wield.  If  it  be  said  that 
the  whole  affair  has  had  its  origin  here  rather  than  in  Rome,  I  am 
certainly  of  opinion  that  this  should  be  looked  into,  and  if  this  be  found  to 
be  true,  that  the  delinquent  ought  to  be  punished.  It  has  been  said  that 
we  ought  to  be  solicitous  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  for  my  part  I  think 
that  this  ought  to  be  put  before  every  other  consideration  ;  but  this  is 
an  ambiguous  fashion  of  speech,  for  the  Pope  is  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth, 
and  has  his  power  from  God;  and  it  is  to  be  believed  that  whoever  obeys 
the  Pope  and  his  censures,  whether  just  or  unjust — about  which  I  express 
no  judgment — will  gain  more  merit  than  by  disobeying.  The  evil  conse- 
quences which  will  follow  on  disobedience  are  considerable.  On  the 
whole,  however,  it  may  be  best  to  communicate  the  Brief  to  the  Friar, 
to  see  what  he  will  do.  If  he  submits,  it  may  be  possible  to  appease 
the  Pope.  If  he  will  not  submit,  then  it  will  be  time  to  consider  what 
is  next  to  be  done,  and  how  it  can  be  done  without  scandal.  Of 
course,  if  it  were  certain  that  the  Friar  holds  a  direct  divine  commission, 
we  ought  to  let  him  go  on  preaching.  But  as  this  is  not  certain,  obedience 
is  clearly  the  wiser  course. 

Antonio  Malegonelle  (for  the  minority  of  four). — We  are  agreed  that 
no  subject  of  greater  importance  has  ever  come  up  for  debate.  The 
advantages  of  obedience  are  manifest.  But  we  are  convinced  that  this 
tiouble  has  been  stirred  up  by  the  Italian  powers  in  order  to  work 
mischief  to  the  city,  and  that  our  enemies  have  prejudiced  the  Pope 
against  Fra  H.  As  for  the  sermons,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  any 
one  will  lose  heaven  either  for  hearing  them  or  for  not  hearing  them,  for, 
after  all,  another  preacher  may  be  found.  But  what  forces  me  to  a 
conclusion  favourable  to  him  is,  that  he  declares  it  to  be  God's  will  that 
we  should  by  all  means  believe  him.^  We  must  therefore  suppose  either 
that  he  is  a  wicked  deceiver,  or  else  that  he  is  a  good  and  holy  man,  and 
on  the  latter  supposition  he  ought  not  to  be  hindered  from  preaching 

^  '*  Id  sono  constrecto  quando  lui  dice  che  gl'i  volonta  di  Dio  a  crcdergii  a 
ogni  modo." 


312  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

by   any  censure,  and   to   prohibit   him    would   be   to  incur   a   grievous 
curse. 

Enea  di  Stufa  (pro  sua  panchata).^ — We  have  to  consider,  in  the 
first  place,  the  honour  of  God,  then  the  interests  of  the  city  and  public 
utility.  The  city,  standing  alone  as  she  does  against  many  enemies, 
has  been  guided  so  far  by  the  grace  of  God.  Now,  considering  the 
doctrine  of  Fra  H.,  and  the  great  fruits  which  it  has  produced,  consider- 
ing, too,  that  his  monastery  is  distinguished  by  the  holy  life  of  its  members, 
so  as  to  be  worthy  of  comparison  with  the  "  cenobii "  of  ancient  times, 
and,  moreover,  that  the  Friar  speaks  by  divine  inspiration,  we  do  not  see 
how  he  can  lawfully  be  prohibited  from  preaching.  In  commanding 
what  he  does  command,  the  Pope  seems  to  be  exceeding  his  powers. 
For  his  power  extends  to  spiritual  but  not  to  temporal  matters.  Now, 
this  whole  affair  appears  to  be  a  temporal  matter,  a  political  move  of  our 
enemies.  If  you  obey,  the  city  will  fall  into  great  disorder,  and  the 
Pope  will  take  occasion  to  demand  something  still  more  unreasonable. 
Nor  will  our  merchants  suffer  from  an  interdict  which  will  be  manifestly 
unjust. 

Ridolfo  de'  Ridolfi.— My  colleagues  think  we  should  obey  in  part, 
but  not  entirely.  They  do  not  think  that  the  Friar  ought  to  be  put  in 
confinement,  but  they  think  that  he  would  do  well  to  have  patience,  and 
abstain  for  a  while  from  preaching.  If  disorders  should  thence  arise, 
they  may  be  dealt  with  as  occasion  shall  serve. 

Piero  Gualterotti.— We  do  not  advise  that  the  Friar  be  sent  to  Rome, 
but  that  he  be  prohibited  from  preaching.  The  powers  are  disposed  to 
restore  our  possessions.  It  is  not  well  to  spoil  our  prospects  by  taking 
on  ourselves  another's  trouble. 

Piero  Camesecchi  agrees  with  the  last  speaker,  but  would  like  to 
see  the  matter  referred  to  the  Consiglio  Grande. 

Giovanni  Cambi. — Either  the  Friar  is  a  man  of  God  or  he  is  a  wicked 
man.  In  the  former  case  we  should  expose  ourselves  to  the  anger  of 
God  by  interfering  with  him.  The  Pope  is  to  be  highly  esteemed,  but 
in  just  and  lawful  matters.  If  this  interdict  should  come,  it  will  not  be 
the  first  of  which  we  have  had  experience.  As  for  the  Pope's  promises 
to  restore  Pisa,  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  do  so. 

Giuliano  Gondi. — We  recommend  you  to  obey  the  Brief,  for  in  your 
oath  on  taking  office  you  promised  to  be  loyal  to  Holy  Church.  Do  not 
then  perjure  yourselves.  This  man  preaches  that  the  Pope  is  no  Pope, 
and  that  we  should  not  believe  in  him,  and  other  things  he  says  which 
a  man  would  not  say  to  his  cook.  This  man  will  set  on  foot  a  sect  of 
fraticelli  such  as  has  been  see?i  here  before^  and  it  is  an  heretical  sect  which 
you  are  helping  to  form.  The  danger  of  the  interdict  is  very  real  and  very 
great,  for  it  exposes  our  merchandise  to  plunder.    Messer  Enea  (Stufa),  if 

1  Stufa  and  the  speakers  who  follow  him  are  members  of  the  Oitanta,  not 
holding  any  special  office.  Each  speaks  for  his  bench,  or  for  a  portion  (whether 
the  majority  or  the  miuoiity)  thereof. 


A  FULL-DRESS  DEBATE  313 

lie  liad  anything  to  lose,  would  speak  very  differently.  As  for  me,  I  have 
merchandise  (wine)  all  over  Italy,  and  if  the  sentence  should  be  passed, 
I  shall  be  bankrupt  (non  posso  fare  11  dovere  a  persona).  The  speaker 
concludes  by  expressing  his  belief  that  when  Fra  H.  sees  this  sentence 
he  will  submit,  and  will  apply  for  permission  to  leave  the  city. 

Francesco  Valori.— To  prohibit  the  citizens  of  a  free  city  from  going 
to  S.  Marco  is  intolerable.  It  is  error  which  ought  to  be  punished,  but 
men  should  be  free  to  do  what  is  good.  If  any  one  has  gone  there  to 
treat  of  political  matters  let  him  be  chastised.  But  as  for  the  Brief,  God 
hates  ingratitude,  of  which  we  should  be  guilty  were  we  to  oppose  a  man 
who  never  spared  himself  in  our  service.  This  monastery  is  now  more 
truly  a  school  of  virtue  than  it  has  been  at  any  time  during  the  last  fifty 
years  ;  and  as  for  the  Friar,  I  advise  you  to  show  him  more  honour  and 
esteem  than  you  have  shown  to  any  one  for  two  centuries  past.  Instead 
of  interfering  with  his  preaching,  we  ought  rather  to  give  him  fuller  oppor- 
tunities for  declaring  the  Word  of  God.  The  Briefs  are  surreptitious 
documents  (mendicati),  due  to  the  machinations  of  our  enemies,  who  are 
not  only  guilty  of  heresy  (vogliano  heresicare),  but  are  doing  their  best 
to  bring  us  to  destruction. 

Giuliano  Mazzinghi  will  not  discuss  the  question  whether  the  Friar 
be  a  bad  man  or  a  good.  Let  the  matter  be  discussed  in  the  Consiglio 
Grande,  which  has  supreme  power.^  No  one  would  wish  to  do  anything 
contrary  to  the  honour  of  the  city.  But  this  will  be  best  consulted  by 
obedience  to  the  Pope. 

Antonio  Canigiani. — We  agree  that  no  more  important  question  has 
ever  been  discussed.  Our  first  duty  is  to  God,  and  in  this  duty  we  should 
be  wanting  were  we  to  interfere  with  the  good  work  of  so  holy  a  man, 
whose  life  and  doctrine  the  Pope  himself  has  commended.  The  Pope 
would  not  have  sent  such  a  Brief  to  Perugia.  He  is,  indeed,  true  Pope  ; 
but  Popes  are  men,  and  can  err.  Let  us  fear  the  wrath  of  God  rather 
than  that  of  the  Pope.  There  are  plenty  of  instances  of  men  who  have 
even  suffered  martyrdom  rather  than  offend  God.  Whether  the  Friar's 
excommunication  be  valid  or  not,  our  liberties  are  not  to  be  surrendered 
to  a  Pope. 

Giacopo  Schiattesi. — Fra  G.  is  an  excellent  man  (valcnte  huomo) 
of  commendable  life  and  devotion,  but  his  sermons  have  sowed  discord 
in  the  city,  and  have  caused  dissensions  in  families,  and  have  brought 
us  to  this  present  pass.  Let  him  cease  to  preach  for  a  while,  and  let 
all  the  citizens  unite  for  the  good  of  the  republic. 

Guido  Cambi. — Let  us  not  hinder  the  Word  of  God,  declared  to  us 
by  a  holy  man  who  has  been  sent  by  God  Himself. 

Giovanni  Brunetti. — Either  refer  the  matter  to  the  Consiglio  Grande, 
or  submit.  This  way  lies  the  true  honour  and  security  of  the  city. 
Fra  G.  is  a  learned  man,  but  any  man  may  be  mistaken,  and  what  we 

*  Several  subsequent  speakers  are  in  favour  of  the  referendum.  It  will  not  b? 
I^ecessary  tu  mention  the  matler  in  e;\ch  case. 


314  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

know,  by  comparison  with  what  we  don't  know,  is  very  little.  Have  not 
very  learned  men,  for  instance  Origen,  been  deceived  before  now  ?  Even 
a  good  man  may  en;  n?id  mistake  /lis  own  itnaginings  for  the  spirit  of 
prophecy. 

Tommasio  {sic)  Fortini. — The  enemy  of  the  human  race  always 
hinders  the  Word  of  God,  more  especially  in  the  acceptable  time.  As  for 
the  Brief,  if  the  Vicar  of  God  opposes  the  Word  of  God  he  is  not  to  be 
obeyed.  The  subject  can  have  no  authority  over  his  superior.  But  it 
will  be  well  to  send  some  one  to  show  the  Brief  to  Fra  G.,  and  he  will 
know  how  to  act. 

Luigi  Venturi. — No  one  can  deny  the  admirable  excellence  of  the  work 
done  by  the  Friar,  and  we  ought  to  protect  and  honour  such  a  man  ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  considering  that  the  Pop>e  represents  Christ,  it  is  a 
terrible  thing  to  disobey  any  precept  of  his.  But  perhaps  if  we  obey 
him  in  regard  of  a  part  of  his  commands  he  will  be  appeased  (and  not 
insist  on  the  rest). 

Vieri  de'  Medici. — Disobedience  to  the  Pope  has  always  had  evil 
consequences.  But  it  is  to  be  thought  that  if  Fra  H.  understands 
that  his  preaching  is  hurtful  to  the  city,  he  will  desist  of  his  own 
accord. 

Piero  Canti. — Some  of  us  fear  to  oppose  the  good  work  of  the  Friar. 
Others  fear  to  disobey  the  Pope.  But,  on  the  whole,  considering  the 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  whole  case  which  our  ambassador  enjoys, 
and  his  former  close  intimacy  with  Fra  H.,  we  think  his  advice 
should  be  followed,  and  that  the  preaching  should  be  stopped.  And 
we  think  that  the  Friar — when  he  understands  the  circumstances — ought 
to  stop  of  his  own  accord.  But  the  matter  should  be  referred  to  the 
Consiglio  Grande. 

G.  B.  Bartolini. — We  ought  not  to  suffer  a  hair  of  the  head  of  this  holy 
man  to  be  touched,  but  to  defend  and  favour  him.  There  is  no  need  to 
discuss  the  character  of  the  Pope's  commands,  for  all  the  trouble 
proceeds  from  the  malice  of  our  enemies,  whom  may  God  pardon.  If 
this  holy  father  is  the  victim  of  persecution,  it  is  because  some  one's  evil 
passions  have  been  aroused. 

Bernardo  Nasi  speaks  in  even  higher  terms  than  those  who  had 
preceded  him  of  the  good  work  done  by  Savonarola,  and  insists  even 
more  strongly  than  they  had  done  that  the  whole  trouble  is  due  to  the 
machinations  of  the  political  enemies  of  Florence.  To  refer  the  matter 
to  the  Consiglio  Grande  would  only  breed  worse  confusion.  If  the 
Signory  will  but  keep  their  eyes  open  they  will  see  the  truth.  There 
are  evil-disposed  citizens  in  their  midst,  as  he  has  good  reason  to 
know  from  the  odious  calumnies  which  have  been  uttered  against 
himself 

Giacomo  Pandolfini  agrees  entirely  with  Messer  Guido  (Vespucci). — 
The  Brief  should  be  obeyed  to  the  extent  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
preaching. 

Sacchetti,  considering  that  all  the  good  estate  of  the  city  since  1494  is 


A  FULL-DRESS  DEBATE  315 

due  to  God,  and  to  the  work  and  prayers  of  the  Friar,  sees  no  remedy  but 
in  prayer,  that  the  anger  of  God  be  not  provoked  by  the  persecution  of 
this  servant  of  God. 

Ormanozzo  Deti  thinks  that  all  can  be  summed  up  thus :  Some  say  Fra 
H.  has  his  prophecy  from  God,  and  we  must  not  oppose  God  ;  for  it  is 
better  to  obey  God  than  to  obey  the  Pope.  But  those  who  say  this 
cannot  deny  that  possibly  it  is  otherwise,  i.e.  that  the  Friar  is  not,  after 
all,  commissioned  by  God.  Others  allege  that  it  is  certain  that  we  ought 
to  obey  the  Pope.  Now,  in  a  matter  of  such  difficulty,  it  is  better  to  hold 
to  ivhat  is  certain  than  to  what  is  uncertain.  If  it  be  said  that  this  Brief 
is  the  work  of  men,  who  want  to  use  it  for  their  own  advancement,  let 
these  men  be  sought  out  and  punished.  Meanwhile,  let  us  try  to 
persuade  the  Friar  to  desist  from  preaching  ;  and  if  he  will  not,  then  make 
known  to  him  the  will  of  the  city  that  he  should  cease.^ 

Three  things  are  clear  from  the  foregoing  summary.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  obvious  that  however  hostile  towards  Savonarola  the 
leading  members  of  the  Signory  may  have  been,  they  had  not  a  free 
hand,  but  were  practically  obliged,  as  well  as  constitutionally  bound, 
to  respect  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  those  who  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  shared  with  them  the  administrative  power.  Secondly,  it  is 
plain  that  many  of  the  friends  of  Fra  Girolamo  felt  very  uneasy 
about  the  effect  of  his  sermons,  and  would  have  been  glad  if  of 
his  own  accord  he  had  ceased  for  a  while  from  preaching.  And, 
thirdly,  his  most  pronounced  adversaries — at  any  rate  among  those 
now  in  the  CoUegio — were  by  no  means  minded  to  hand  him  over 
to  the  Pope.  The  tension  of  feeling,  and  perhaps,  too,  the  un- 
certainty of  the  issue,  may  probably  account  for  the  circumstance 
that  after  so  long  a  debate  no  division  was  taken.  The  plan  adopted 
was  to  refer  the  matter  to  a  special  committee,  which  certainly  was 
fairly  representative  of  the  two  principal  parties  in  the  city,  the 
Arrabbiati  and  the  Frateschi.^  Neither  the  Palleschi  nor  the  Com- 
pagnacci,  however,  seem  to  have  been  represented  on  the  Board. 
The  latter,  indeed,  deserved  rather  the  name  of  a  gang  than  of  a 
party,  and  the  former  were  not  strong  enough  openly  to  declare 
themselves.  The  chief  names  on  the  committee  are  those  of 
Vespucci,  Soderini,  Valori,  Guicciardini,  Albizi,  and  Lorenzo  "  di 
Pier  Francesco  "  as  he  is  commonly  called.  The  last  named  was  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  Medici  family,  who  had,  however,  no 

1  Lupi,  pp.  33-53. 

2  We  own  to  a  certain  distaste  for  the  use  of  these  terms,  which,  after  all,  were 
only  nicknames,  and  do  not  fairly  represent  the  mental  and  political  attitude  of 
the  more  moderate  men  on  either  side. 


3i6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

love  for  Piero,  the  head  of  his  house,  and  had  thrown  in  his  lot  with 
the  aristocratic  party. 

The  resolution  arrived  at  by  this  committee,  on  17th  March,  was 
to  the  effect  that  Fra  Girolamo  be  "  persuaded  "  to  cease  entirely 
from  preaching.^  It  Wc.:;  on  the  following  day,  i8th  March,  being 
the  third  Sunday  in  Lent,  that  Savonarola  delivered  his  farewell 
sermon  to  the  people  of  Florence.  That  this  discourse  did  not  differ, 
except  perhaps  in  vehemence  and  strength  of  invective,  from  those 
which  had  gone  before  it,  has  been  already  seen. 

*  Lupi,  p.  54. 


Chapter  xvin 

Ttie  lull  before  the  last  storm 

THE  diplomatic  correspondence  of  the  latter  half  of  the  month 
of  March  now  claims  our  attention,  and  will  bring  us  to  the 
threshold  of  the  closing  scenes  of  the  drama.  The  reader  will  be  at 
no  loss  to  perceive  how  very  inadequately  the  Florentine  Ten 
apprehended  the  gravity  of  the  situation  as  it  was  regarded  at  Rome, 
and  how  guilelessly  they  trusted  the  treacherous  assurances  of  Lodovico 
Sforza,  and  of  his  worthy  tool  Somenzi.  Of  the  Signory,  some,  as 
has  been  seen,  were  favourably  disposed  to  Savonarola.  Others, 
though  opposed  to  him,  were  probably  content  that  he  should  be 
silent.  But  it  seems  only  too  clear  that  the  Gonfaloniere,  Piero 
Popoleschi,  and  some  of  his  colleagues,  confidently  awaited  the 
veering  of  the  breeze  of  popular  favour,  and  rejoiced  at  the  troubles 
which  they  affected  to  deplore,  in  the  sure  hope  that  the  indiscretion 
of  the  Friar's  friends  would  ultimately  strengthen  the  hands  of  his 
most  bitter  enemies. 

\6th  March;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.'— The  Signory  has  held  a  consulta- 
tion relative  to  the  Brief.  Two-thirds  of  those  who  spoke  were  in  favour 
of  submission,  yet  no  conclusion  was  come  to.  I  am  informed,  however, 
that  within  a  couple  of  days  a  resolution  will  be  passed,  to  the  effect  that 
the  Friar  must  cease  from  preaching.  This  will  be  a  first  step :  and 
thereafter,  if  the  Pope  chooses  to  proceed  further,  it  is  believed  that  he 
will  gain  all  that  he  wishes  for.  The  election  of  the  twelve  Buoni 
Uoinini  has  taken  place,  and  is  of  great  importance,  for  they  have  a  voice 
in  all  deliberations  of  the  Collegio.  The  newly-elected  men  are  all 
hostile  to  the  Friar  ;  and  the  same  result  will  be  seen  in  all  the  elections 
which  are  to  follow,  for  a  majority  of  the  Consiglio  Grande  are  of  the 
same  mind.  You  have  already  understood  from  me  that  the  Ten  are  all 
supporters  of  the  Friar,  and  the  terms  of  my  commission  require  that  all 
my  official  dealings  should  be  with  them,  unless  your  Highness  should 
entrust  me  with  some  special  message  to  the  Signory.     But  having  been 

'  Villaii,  ii.  Append,  p.  Ivi. 

*^  317 


3i8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

informed  that  my  communications  were  not  always  faithfully  reported  by 
the  Ten  to  the  Signory,  I  sought  and  obtained  a  secret  interview  with 
the  Gonfaloniere,  to  whom  I  read  your  Highness's  letter.  He  thanked 
me  warmly,  and  said  it  was  quite  true  that  the  Ten  had  not  faithfully 
reported  to  him  and  to  his  colleagues  the  contents  of  the  letter.  He  was 
glad  that  I  had  read  it  to  him,  for  it  was,  he  said,  very  much  to  the 
purpose,  in  view  of  the  discussions  now  in  progress  concerning  the 
Papal  Brief. 

\Tth  March;  Same  to  same.— He  has  informed  the  Ten,  as  requested, 
of  the  displeasure  of  the  Pope,  and  has  exhorted  them,  in  the  Duke's 
name,  to  take  efficacious  means  to  content  his  Holiness,  lest  he  be 
driven  to  take  stronger  measures.  They  replied  that  they  had  already 
heard  of  this,  and  had  already  written  to  your  Highness  begging  you  to 
use  your  good  offices  with  the  Pope.  They  declare  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  speak  too  highly  of  the  life  and  work  of  the  Friar ;  where- 
fore they  are  persuaded  that  if  his  Holiness  were  rightly  informed  of 
these  things  he  would  not  proceed  against  him  as  he  does.  They  begged 
me  to  implore  your  Highness  to  do  your  best  to  appease  the  anger  of  the 
Pope,  that  he  may  proceed  no  further  against  this  servant  of  God.  And 
in  requital  of  your  efforts  on  behalf  of  Fra  H.(!)  they  bid  me  promise 
you  their  hearty  prayers  for  your  welfare.  "  Questa  e  stata  la  resposta 
che  sopra  cio  mi  hanno  facto  questi  Signori  Dieci." 

\%th  March;  The  Signory  to  Bonsi.^— They  regret  extremely  that  the 
preaching  of  Fra  H.  should  have  so  greatly  displeased  the  Pope.  For 
his  Holiness's  satisfaction  they  now  communicate  to  Bonsi  the  resolution 
at  which  they  have  finally  arrived,  viz.  to  put  a  stop  to  the  sermons  ;  and 
they  excuse  their  delay  in  replying  by  explaining  that  the  discussion  of 
such  matters  in  a  constitutional  way  necessarily  takes  time.  The  Friar, 
however,  having  been  now  forbidden  to  preach,  they  trust  that  his 
Holiness  will  accept  their  excuses,  and  will  show  himself  favourably 
disposed,  etc. 

Satue  date;  The  Ten  to  Bonsi.^— The  main  facts  he  will  have  under- 
stood from  the  Signory.  But  they  wish  to  add  that  the  real  cause  of  the 
delay  in  replying  to  the  Brief  has  been  due,  not  so  much  to  the  require- 
ments of  orderly  procedure,  as  to  the  conviction  of  many  citizens  that  the 
Pope,  whose  last  Brief  bears  witness  to  his  esteem  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
Friar,  and  to  his  sense  of  the  good  results  which  his  sermons  have  produced, 
would  not  have  been  persuaded  to  proceed  against  him  except  by  the 
misrepresentations  of  the  enemies  of  the  city.  However,  notwithstanding 
this  conviction,  it  has  been  judged  best  to  place  the  duty  of  obedience  to 
the  Holy  See  before  all  private  considerations.  Therefore  the  Signory 
have  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  the  sermons.     But  although  this  con- 


1  Marchese,  n.  2i.  This  is  a  reply  to  Bonsi's  letter  of  the  9th.  How 
anxiously  it  was  awaited,  Bonsi's  letters  of  the  same  date,  and  of  the  19th  and 
20th  (summarised  below),  abundantly  show. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  202. 


THE  LULL  BEFORE  THE  STORM  3i9 

elusion  has  been  unanimously  arrived  at,  a  large  number  of  the  citizens 
are  deeply  yricved  at  being  deprived  of  the  spiritual  consolations  which 
they  were  wont  to  experience  in  hearing  him  ;  and  they  confidently  hope 
that  the  Pope  will,  of  his  goodness,  very  shortly  restore,  to  them  this  their 
spiritual  food.  The  letter  is  to  be  communicated  to  the  Pope  and  to 
others,  or  not,  at  Bonsi's  discretion. 

Saviedate;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.i— Pie  understands  that  the  Pope  has 
communicated  to  several  Cardinals  his  extreme  indignation  at  the  terrible 
invectives  uttered  by  Fra  G.  against  his  Holiness  and  the  whole  court, 
and  his  anger  was  directed  also  against  the  city  which  permits  these 
things.  The  Pope  has  been  advised  no  longer  to  be  content  with  a  mere 
inhibition  from  preaching,  but  to  demand  that  the  Friar  be  sent  to  Rome 
without  delay  ;  and,  moreover,  not  merely  to  declare  the  interdict,  but 
to  lay  hands  on  all  Florentines  now  in  Rome,  and  to  impound  their  goods, 
and  if  the  Friar  be  not  sent  to  Rome  within  a  fixed  limit  of  time,  to 
imprison  some  of  the  Florentines  in  the  castle  of  S.  Angelo,  and  to 
confiscate  their  property.  To  all  this  the  Pope  has  agreed,  and  has 
declared  that  he  is  minded  to  inflict  as  much  harm  as  possible  upon  the 
city,  in  requital  of  the  grievous  insults  offered  to  himself  and  the  Holy 
See  (per  vendicare  tanta  ingiuria,  etc.).  The  Ten  are  implored  "  for  the 
love  of  God  "  to  take  measures  without  delay  to  obviate  issues  so  mis- 
chievous, and  by  no  means  to  imagine  that  their  envoy  has  it  in  his  power 
to  take  any  effective  steps  in  so  grave  a  crisis. 

Same  date ;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.'^— Late  yesterday  evening  the  Signory 
communicated  their  decision  to  the  Friar.  And  this  morning  he  declared 
that  he  would  preach  no  more  ;  but  he  has  not  on  this  account  withdrawn 
a  jot  of  what  he  had  previously  said  ;  in  fact,  they  say  that  in  his  sermon 
this  morning  he  inveighed  against  his  Holiness  more  strongly  than  ever. 
It  is  thought  here  that  the  Pope  cannot,  consistently  with  his  honour,  rest 
satisfied  with  this.  But  the  ambassador  of  the  Signory  in  Rome,  who  is 
entirely  (?)  devoted  to  the  Friar,  has  written  that  he  feels  sure  that  his 
Holiness  will  be  content,  and  will  proceed  no  further,  if  only  the  Friar 
desist  from  preaching. 

\<^th  March;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.^— Conversations  with  Perugia  and 
Capaccio  entirely  confirm  his  statements  of  yesterday.  He  is  distressed 
at  having  received  no  reply  to  his  letter  of  the  9th  inst.,  which  accompanied 
the  Brief.  The  Florentine  merchants  in  Rome  have  begged  him  to  obtain 
a  wise  decision  from  the  Signory.  He  understands  that  Piero  (de'  Medici) 
has  been  with  the  Pope,  and  is  in  higher  favour  than  heretofore.  All  the 
enemies  of  Florence  are  in  high  spirits  (ogni  vostro  adversario  .  .  .  piglia 
hora  animo  assai). 

Same  date ;  The  Florentine  merchants  in  Rome  to  the  Signory.* — 

1  Gherardi,  p.  204.  The  writer  had,  of  course,  not  yet  received  the  letters 
last  given. 

"^  Villari,  p.  Iviii. 
5  Gherardi,  p.  204. 
*  Gherardi,  p.  205. 


320  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

They  represent  the  imminent  danger  in  which  they  find  themselves,  in 
consequence  of  the  favour  shown  by  the  Signory  to  "  the  Venerable  Fra 
Hieronimo,"  and  the  disgrace  and  the  mischief  which  will  accrue  to  the 
city  if  they  are  made  to  suffer.  Therefore  let  the  Signory,  by  a  wise 
course  of  action,  come  to  their  relief. 

loth  March;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.^ — Is  greatly  distressed  at  having 
received  no  reply  (to  his  letter  of  9th  March  !).  He  hourly  awaits 
despatches  with  the  utmost  anxiety. 

Same  date;  Tranchedino  to  Sforza.^ — Messer  Zoanne  (Giovanni 
Bentivoglio)  has  secret  information  from  Florence  that  the  minds  of  some 
of  the  chief  men  are  in  a  ferment,  and  a  tumult  is  to  be  expected,  which 
may  issue  in  a  revolution  ;  either  because  the  French  show  how  little  they 
care  for  their  Florentine  friends,  or  because  the  people  are  in  despair,  and 
see  that  everything  is  going  from  bad  to  worse,  for  they  begin  to  be  aware 
of  the  hypocrisy  and  vain-gloriousness  of  the  Friar.  The  Frateschi  are 
believed  to  be  in  communication  with  France,  promising  a  subsidy  if  the 
King  will  come  to  their  assistance. 

This,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  is  mere  political  gossip  of  a  malicious 
and  mischievous  kind.  As  regards  the  prospects  of  a  revolutionary 
tumult,  it  is  only  too  obvious  that  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought. 
Whether  "  la  parte  Fratesca  "  was  in  communication  with  France  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  Of  Fra  Girolamo's  own  message  to  the  king 
we  shall  have  to  speak  presently. 

^ird  March;  Bonsi  to  the  Signory.^— He  has  communicated  to  the 
Pope  the  reply  of  the  Signory.  The  Pope  takes  it  ill  that  they  have  not 
written  directly  to  him,  and  will  give  no  definite  answer  until  he  has  a 
letter  addressed  to  himself.  He  is  pleased  that  Fra  G.  has  ceased  to 
preach,  but  he  hears  that  other  friars  of  S.  Marco  have  in  their  sermons 
shown  much  contempt  for  the  Holy  See,  and  is  surprised  that  such 
things  should  be  tolerated.  If  you  wish  to  obtain  any  favour  from  him, 
he  insists,  not  indeed  that  you  should  prohibit  these  others  from  preach- 
ing, but  that  they  should  cease  from  such  language.  If  the  Friar  will  obey 
by  being  silent  for  a  time,  and  will  afterwards  seek  absolution,  he  will 
willingly  grant  it,  and  will  give  him  permission  to  preach,  for  he  does 
not  condemn  his  doctrine,  but  his  contempt  of  ecclesiastical  censures,  etc., 
for  if  these  things  were  tolerated,  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See  would  be 
destroyed.  Bonsi  replied  that  he  knew  nothing  of  these  other  preachers, 
and  that  false  reports  are  often  sent  to  Rome.  He  now  exhorts  the 
Signory  to  show  their  loyalty  towards  the  Pope  by  satisfying  him  in  all 
lawful  matters. 


^  Gherardi,  p.  207. 

2  Del  Lungo,  n.  31  ;  Villari,  p.  lix. 

'  Gherardi,  p.  209. 


THE  LULL  BEFORE  THE  STORM  321 

24///  March ;  Bonsi  to  the  Ten.' — A  letter  to  the  same  effect  as  that 
to  the  Signory,  but  urging  more  explicitly  that  efficacious  measures  be 
taken  to  put  a  stop  to  intemperate  language  in  the  pulpit,  and  that  the 
Signory  should  by  all  means  write  to  the  Pope  in  person. 

Same  date;  The  Ten  to  Bonsi." — They  are  greatly  troubled  to  hear 
of  the  Pope's  displeasure  in  the  matter  of  Fra  11.,  but  they  trust  that  he 
will  be  appeased  when  he  hears  that  they  have  carried  out,  in  substance, 
what  he  required.  And  they  trust  that  his  tHoIiness  will  shortly  restore 
to  the  citizens  the  spiritual  consolation  which  they  derive  from  hearing 
the  Friar.  This  letter  is  to  be  shown  to  the  Pope,  but  the  writers  add, 
in  a  covering  letter  of  the  same  date,  that  they  know  very  well  that 
mischief  is  being  done  by  persons  in  Florence,  who,  to  further  their  own 
evil  ends,  persist  in  sending  false  and  misleading  reports  to  Rome. 

25M  March;  The  Duke  of  Milan  (Sforza)  to  Cardinal  Sforza.' — He 
is  sorry  (?)  to  hear  that  the  Pope  is  displeased  with  the  reply  of  the 
Florentines  to  his  first  Brief.*  We  have  written  to  Florence  in  very 
strong  terms,  and  have  used  our  best  efforts  with  the  Florentine 
ambassador  here.^  He  (Pepi)  has  replied  that,  according  to  information 
received,  the  Friar  will  not  preach  again,  and  will  respect  the  wishes 
and  the  honour  of  his  Holiness.  Therefore,  you  have  acted  most  wisely 
in  not  intervening  to  appease  the  Pope,  and  in  causing  him  to  write  the 
second  Brief;  for  we  see  clearly  that  to  it  is  due  the  changed  attitude 
of  the  Florentines,  and  their  submission  to  his  commands. 

Same  date;  Taverna  to  Sforza.' — To  the  information,  communicated 
by  the  Florentine  envoy,  that  Fra  H.  has  ceased  to  preach,  the  Pope 
replied  with  very  kind  expressions  (parole  molto  amorevoli  et  grate), 
assuring  him  of  his  good-will  towards  the  city. 

^bth  March;  d'Este  to  Felino  Sandeo  (Papal  Secretary).^ — Messer 
Zanluca  has  communicated  to  us  your  opinion  concerning  the  defence 
of  Fra  H.,  composed  by  the  son  of  M.  Galeotto  della  Mirandola,  and 
dedicated  to  ourselves.  We  thank  you,  and  by  your  advice  we  write 
the  accompanying  letter  to  the  Pope,  assuring  him  that  we  never  requested 
the  Count  Zanfrancesco  (Giov.  Fr.  Pico  della  M.)  to  instruct  us  concern- 
ing the  efficacy  of  the  excommunication  of  the  Friar.  For  we  never 
doubted  the  power  of  his  Holiness,  and  if  we  had  been  in  doubt,  we  have 
counsellors  and  learned  men  from  whom  we  should  have  sought  advice. 
We  shall  give  the  culpable  party  to  understand  that  he  must  not  use 


*  Gherardi,  p.  209. 
^  Gherardi,  p.  207. 
"  Del  Lungo,  n.  33. 

*  "  Ci  e  rincresciiito  grandemente"  .  .  .  etc.  But  from  what  follows  it 
appears  only  too  plainly  that  the  Duke  was  rejoiced  to  hear  of  the  difficulties  in 
which  the  Signory  found  themselves. 

*  I.e.  to  bring  the  Signory  to  a  better  mind. 

*  Del  Lungo,  n.  34. 
'  Cappelli,  n.  145. 

X 


322  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

our  name  in  connection  with  such  matters,  and  that  he  must  revoke  the 
dedication,  though,  as  the  tract  has  been  printed,  and  is  in  circulation, 
it  will  be  difficult  for  him  to  satisfy  our  wish.     Pray  present  our  letter  to 

the  Pope. 

Same  date j  d'Este  to  the  Pope.^— The  writer  is  greatly  indignant  that 
Mirandola  should  have  presumed  to  dedicate  to  himself  the  tract  in 
defence  of  Savonarola,  and  to  give  to  the  tract  the  form  of  an  answer  to 
questions  alleged  to  have  been  addressed  to  him  by  d'Este.  He  calls 
God  to  witness  that  he  never  consulted  Pico  on  the  subject,  and  never 
doubted  the  authority  and  power  of  the  Pope.  He  assures  his  Holiness 
that  in  this  matter  Pico  has  either  lied  or  indulged  in  a  literary  fiction 
(in  hoc  aut  finxisse  aut  mentitum  esse),  and  that  he  himself  is  a  loyal  son 
of  the  Church,  and  has  always  spoken  honourably  of  the  Pope.  He  has 
written  to  those  whom  it  concerns,  severely  reproving  them  for  having 
undertaken  a  task  beyond  their  powers,  and  one  which  is  unworthy  of  a 
faithful  Christian  (rem  humeris  suis  imparem  et  a  cujuslibet  fidelis  officio 
alienam). 

^']th  March;  Somenzi  to  Sforza."— The  Signory  have  forbidden  Fra 
H.  to  preach,  and  he  has  ceased  to  do  so.  But  he  has  made  three  of  his 
brethren  preach  in  three  different  churches,  who  speak  not  less  freely 
than  he  had  done,  but  perhaps  more  so,  against  the  Pope  and  the  clergy. 
Whence  it  appears  that  the  wishes  of  his  Holiness  have  not  been 
effectively  carried  out.  Moreover,  on  Sunday  last,  which  was  the  Feast 
of  the  Annunciation  of  the  B.  V.  M.,  he  celebrated  High  Mass,  and 
communicated  a  great  number  of  persons,  who,  as  is  publicly  known,  are 
all  excommunicate.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  there  is  no  other  remedy  for 
this  disease  than  for  his  Holiness  to  proceed  further  in  the  way  of 
censures  and  an  interdict,  to  be  declared  without  fail,  unless,  within  a 
stated  time,  the  Friar  is  expelled  from  the  city  and  its  territories.  The 
friends  of  the  Friar  are  doing  their  utmost  to  breed  divisions  in  the 
Signory,  but  without  success.  Certain  magistrates  have  been  elected 
within  the  last  few  days,  all  of  whom  are  hostile  to  the  Friar  ;  so  that  if 
only  the  Pope  will  persevere  in  his  purpose,  the  Frateschi  will  soon  be 
under  the  power  of  our  friends,  and  will  no  longer  be  able  to  intrigue 
with  the  French  as  they  have  hitherto  done. 

zZth  March  J  The  Ten  to  Pepi.^— You  have  already  understood  that,  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  his  Holiness,  the  Venerable  Fra  H. 
has  ceased  to  preach.  Wherefore  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  any  obstacle  which 
may  heretofore  have  stood  in  the  way  of  the  restoration  of  Pisa  may  now 
be  deemed  to  have  been  removed.  Be  good  enough  to  beg  his  Lordship 
(Bentivoglio)  to  use  his  good  offices  on  our  behalf  with  the  Pope,  and  to 
implore  his  Holiness  not  to  give  ear  to  the  malicious  reports  of  our 
enemies. 


^  Cappelli,  n.  146. 

2  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  Ix. 

*  Gherardi,  p.  211. 


THE  LULL  BEFORE  THE  STORM  323 

Same  date;  Tranchedino  to  Sforza.'— He  hears  that  "Lorenzino" 
(Lorenzo  di  rierfrancesco  de'  Medici)  has  made  up  his  mind  to  leave 
Florence.  The  writer  does  not  know  what  to  make  of  it,  but  believes 
that  the  Friar  is  hostile  to  him  as  he  is  to  every  one  who  seems  likely  to 
acquire  influence,  and  to  use  it  against  himself.  He  fears  that  the  Friar 
is  still  capable  of  creating  a  disturbance,  as  he  has  put  up  other  preachers 
in  his  place  to  rail  against  the  Holy  See,  and  he  seems  to  be  supported 
by  those  who  are  in  authority.  It  seems  that  the  Friar  has  little  regard 
for  the  threats  of  the  Signory,  and  still  less  for  those  of  Rome  (che  pocho 
estimi  le  minaccie  del  Palazzo  et  mancho  quelle  di  Roma),  which  (adds 
this  pious  ambassador)  is  a  very  scandalous  thing. 

Same  date;  Taverna  to  Sforza  (a  fragment).^— It  has  been  judged 
desirable  to  crush  Fra  Hieronymo  if  possible  (ad  reprimere  et  annichilare, 
possendosi,  Fra  H.  da  Ferrara)  ;  and  to  this  end  certain  Florentines 
(resident  in  Rome)  have  assured  his  Holiness  that  the  present  Signory 
will  not  fail  in  their  duty  to  him.  Efiorts  are  being  made  to  induce  the 
Pope  to  send  a  prelate  to  Florence,  with  full  powers  to  chastise  and 
imprison  the  Friar,  and  to  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  his  Holiness. 
The  Pope,  however,  has  not  finally  decided  what  he  will  do. 

^^th  March;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.^— Though  Fra  H.  no  longer  preaches, 
he  has  put  up  three  other  friars  who  speak  in  more  unmeasured  terms 
than  himself  (dichono  assai  pegio  che  lui).  The  worst  of  these  is  his 
companion,  Fra  Domenico  da  Pescia,  a  man  who  is  regarded  rather  as  a 
presumptuous  and  loutish  preacher  than  as  prudent  and  fit  for  his  work 
(el  quale  non  h  tenuto  tanto  prudente  et  sufficiente  predicatore  quanto 
■presufiipiuoso  et  bestiale).  And  whereas  these  three  friars  continually 
maintain  that  obedience  is  not  due  to  the  Holy  See,  especially  in  the 
matter  of  the  excommunication,  the  nullity  of  which  they  openly  proclaim, 
a  certain  Fra  Francesco,  of  the  Friars  Minor,  has  replied  to  them  in  his 
sermons.  Both  parties  have  drawn  up  and  published  their  conclusions  ; 
and  as  the  matter  appears  to  be  one  which  touches  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  the  city,  the  Signory  have  summoned  both  Fra  Domenico 
and  Fra  Francesco,  and  they  are  now  in  the  Palazzo,  where  a  secret 
conference  is  being  held. 

Same  date;  Tranchedino  to  Sforza.'*— My  Lord  (Bentivoglio)  is 
delighted  with  the  news  from  Florence.  It  seems  a  matter  of  no  small 
moment  that  by  reason  of  this  Friar  the  city  is  in  danger  of  being  thrown 
into  worse  confusion  than  ever ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  present 
Signory  will  show  themselves  more   capable   of  bringing  matters  to  a 


1  Del  Lungo,  n.  35. 

■■^  Villari,  p.  Ixi.  The  writer  is  that  Bishop  of  Parma,  who  on  17th  February 
assured  Bonsi  that  he  was  doing  his  best  to  defend  the  interests  of  Florence  in 
the  Roman  court.  It  will  be  remembered,  however,  that  even  Bonsi's  ardour 
on  behalf  of  Savonarola  had  by  this  time  very  sensibly  cooled. 

•*  Del  Lungo,  n.  36. 

*  Del  Lungo,  n.  37  ;  Villari,  p.  l.\i. 


324  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

satisfactory  result  than  their  predecessors.  The  writer  is  confident  that 
the  crisis  will  not  last  long,  if  only  those  whom  it  concerns  will  act 
with  good  sense.' 

31J/  March;  The  Signory  to  the  Pope.'-^— We  have  already  informed 
your  Holiness,  through  our  ambassador,  of  our  action  in  putting  a  stop  to 
the  preaching  of  Fra  H.  We  should  have  written  direct  to  your  Holi- 
ness were  it  not  that  the  constitution  prescribes  that  no  letter  shall  be 
sent  to  the  Pope  except  by  virtue  of  a  decree  of  the  CoUegio,  which 
cannot  be  assembled  every  moment  (legibus  civitatis  nostrae  .  .  .  pro- 
hibemur  ad  S.P.  dare  licteras  sine  decreto  collegarum  nostrarum,  qui 
singulis  horarum  momentis  (!)  congregari  non  possunt).  However,  as 
you  have  expressed  a  wish  to  receive  a  letter  from  us,  we  should  fear  to 
seem  remiss  in  our  duty  were  we  not  to  inform  you,  as  we  do  by  these 
presents,  that  we  have  forbidden  Savonarola  to  preach.  And  we 
are  glad  to  bear  witness  that  he  has  abstained  from  so  doing  for  some 
days  past.  We  are  pleased  to  hear  that  our  submission  has  appeased 
your  Holiness,  from  whom  we  hope  for  a  continuance  of  the  good-will 
which  you  have  shown  to  us  in  the  past. 

Same  date;  The  Signory  to  Bonsi.^— We  enclose  a  letter  which  you 
will  present  to  the  Pope.  As  for  what  you  say  about  other  friars  having 
spoken  disrespectfully  of  the  Holy  See,  we  have  made  enquiries,  but  can 
learn  nothing  to  this  effect  (informatoci,  non  ritragghiamo  cotesto  da 
nessuno).  Use  your  best  endeavours  in  our  behalf,  and  keep  us  well 
informed.  The  letter  to  the  Pope  contains  nothing  which  you  do  not 
know  already. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Savonarola,  who  neither  hoped  nor  wished 
for  reconciliation  with  the  Pope,  had  taken  a  step  which,  if  it  were  not 
successful  after  a  fashion  that  would  have  changed  the  whole  course 
of  subsequent  ecclesiastical  history,  could  hardly  fail  to  be  fatal  to 
himself  personally.  It  was  now  that  he  finally  determined  on 
despatching  his  circular  letter,  as  it  may  be  called,  to  the  sovereigns 
of  Europe,  i.e.  to  the  Emperor  and  to  the  Kings  of  France,  Spain, 
England,  and  Hungary.  The  letters  have  all  substantially  the  same 
tenor.  "The  moment  of  vengeance  is  come,  and  the  Lord  desires 
me  to  reveal  new  secrets.  .  .  .  The  Church  is  full  of  abominations 
from  head  to  foot,  and  you  not  only  apply  no  remedy,  but  even 
worship  that  which  is  the  cause  of  the  evil  wherewith  she  is  con- 
taminated.    Wherefore  the  Lord  is  greatly  incensed,  and  for  some 

1  Another  letter  from  Tranchedino  to  Sforza  (31st  March,  ibid.,  n.  38)  is  here 
omitted  as  of  no  importance.  On  30th  March,  d'Este  writes  to  Manfredi 
(Cappelli,  n.  147),  nsking  to  be  kept  informed  of  all  that  passes  in  connection 
with  Savonarola. 

*  Marchese,  n.  23. 

^  Marchese,  n.  22. 


THE  LULL  BEFORE  THE  STORM  JiJ 

time  past  has  left  His  Church  without  a  shepherd.  ...  I  now 
declare  to  you  that  this  Alexander  is  no  true  Pope  (non  e  Papa), 
because,  to  say  nothing  of  his  most  wicked  crime  of  simony,  ...  I 
affirm  that  he  is  not  a  Christian,  and  that  he  does  not  believe  in  the 
existence  of  God,  which  is  to  exceed  the  utmost  limits  of  unfaith." 
The  writer  goes  on  to  exhort  the  princes  to  set  their  hands  to  the 
work  of  assembling  a  Council  in  a  suitable  and  free  place.  God 
would  show  the  truth  of  what  he  said,  even  by  miraculous  signs.  A 
few  sentences  were  added  in  each  case,  suitable  to  the  dispositions 
of  the  several  sovereigns.  He  appealed  to  the  vanity  of  the  Emperor ; 
to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  he  wrote  that  this  work  was  more  im- 
portant than  that  of  conquering  the  infidel.  Charles  VIII.  is 
reminded  of  his  election  by  God  to  bear  the  sword  of  his 
vengeance.^  The  letters  to  Henry  VII.  of  England  and  to  the 
King  of  Hungary  have  not  been  preserved. 

These  documents  were  indeed  never  despatched.  To  prepare 
the  way  for  them,  Savonarola  enlisted  the  services  of  five  trusted 
friends,  who  were  each  to  write  a  preliminary  letter,  of  which  he 
provided  them  with  a  "  minuta,"  or  rough  draft,  to  certain  persons 
whom  he  deemed  hkely  to  have  access  to  the  Emperor,  and  the 
kings  of  France,  Spain,  England,  and  Hungary  respectively.  Among 
these  five  friends  Domenico  Mazzinghi  was  to  write  to  his  friend 
Gioacchino  Guasconi,  Florentine  ambassador  in  France,  in  order 
to  convey  to  him,  and  through  him  to  Charles  VIII.,  the  mind 
of  Savonarola  respecting  the  Council.  This  letter,  with  Guasconi's 
reply,  has  been  preserved ;  but  we  reserve  it  for  the  present,  because 
the  whole  subject  of  these  letters  will  recur  later,  in  connection  with 
the  trial  of  Savonarola.  It  seems  probable  that  for  greater  security — 
though,  as  it  turned  out,  with  doubled  risk — Mazzinghi  despatched 
two  copies  of  the  letter  to  his  correspondent  by  different  messengers. 
One  copy  was  intercepted  by  the  spies  of  Lodovico  Sforza,  and 
forthwith  communicated  by  him  to  the  Pope  through  his  brother. 
Cardinal  Ascanio.^  In  the  meanwhile,  however,  fresh  events  of  a 
more  stirring  nature  had  occurred,  and  the  last  act  of  the  tragic 
drama  of  Savonarola's  life  had  already  begun. 

1  Villari,  ii.  132  sijcj.  ;  Periens,  Doc.  xii.  xiii.  xiv.,  pp.    373  scj,j.  ;  Maiisi,  pp. 

584  SiJC/. 

^  Villari,  ii.  134. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

THE    ORDEAL    BY    FIRE  ^ 

THE  intercepted  letter  to  the  ambassador  at  the  French  court, 
and  the  inevitable  discovery,  sooner  or  later,  of  the  pro- 
jected correspondence  with  the  other  sovereigns  of  Europe,  could 
hardly  have  failed  to  issue  in  a  catastrophe,  even  if  the  course  of 
events  had  not  taken— precisely  at  this  juncture — an  altogether 
unexpected  turn.  But  the  turn  which  they  actually  took  had  the 
effect  of  putting  the  incident  of  the  letter,  for  the  moment  at  least, 
into  the  background. 

Already  in  the  Lent  of  1497,  when  Era  Domenico  Buonvicino  da 
Pescia  was  preaching  in  the  church  of  San  Domenico  at  Prato,  he 
had  found  a  redoubtable  rival  in  Era  Francesco  di  Puglia,  the 
Franciscan  preacher  in  the  church  called  della  Pieve.^  This  friar 
seems  to  have  made  it  his  business  to  protest  against  the  prophetical 
claims  of  Savonarola,  "sparlando  molto  temerariamente  contro  F. 
Girolamo,"  as  Burlamacchi  tells  us.     To  such  a  pitch  did  he  allow 

1  For  the  incidents  with  which  we  are  concerned  in  the  present  chapter  a 
considerable  mass  of  contemporary  evidence  is  available,  some  of  it  that  of  eye- 
witnesses. Besides  the  Bonsi  despatches,  the  letter  of  the  friars  of  S.  Marco  to 
the  Pope,  and  the  official  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Signory  and  the  Collegio, 
we  have  letters  of  Somenzi,  of  Girolamo  Benivieni,  and  of  Lionardo  Strozzi,  written 
at  the  time,  the  diary  of  Landucci,  and  the  following  tracts,  of  which  the  relevant 
sections  have  been  published  in  full  by  Villari  or  by  Villari  and  Casanova ;  viz. 
the  newly-recovered  Cronaca  of  Simone  Filipepi  (Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta,  etc., 
pp.  453  sqq.),  the  Epistola  de  Vita  .  .  .  F.  H.  S.,  of  Fra  Placido  Cinozzi  (idid., 
pp.  3  sqq.),  the  Giornate  of  Vivoli  (Villari,  ii.  Doc.  xvi.),  and  the  Vulnera 
Diligcntis  of  Fra  Benedetto  da  Firenze  (ibid.,  Doc.  xvii.).  To  these  must  be 
added  the  extremely  valuable  extract  from  the  Cronaca  of  Dionisio  Pulinari  (edited 
by  Conti  in  A.  S.  /.,  III.  xiii.),  embodying,  as  it  does,  the  narrative  of  Fra  Mariano 
da  Firenze,  an  eye-witness,  and  giving,  in  the  only  form  now  accessible,  the 
Franciscan  version  of  the  story.  The  narratives  of  Nardi,  Pilti,  Cerretani,  Parenti, 
etc.  (all  contemporaries  of  Savonarola),  occurring  in  their  respective  chronicles  or 
histories,  here  and  there  supply  a  detail  of  more  or  less  interest.  Burlamacchi's 
testimony,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  to  be  received  with  caution. 

2  The  parish  or  "  people's  "  church  (de  plebe).  as  the  parish  priest  was  called 
"  pievano,"  or  "  piovano"  (plebanus). 


THE  ORDEAL  327 

himself  to  be  carried  by  his  imprudent  zeal,  or  jealousy,  that  he 
publicly  declared  his  readiness  to  enter  a  burning  fire  along  with  Fra 
Donienico,  in  order  to  test  the  truth  of  their  respective  allegations. 
In  vain  did  Fra  Girolamo  Bartoli,  Domenico's  companion,  try  to 
persuade  him  to  moderate  his  language,  and  eventually,  with  the 
encouragement  of  some  of  the  local  notabilities,  a  formal  challenge 
was  issued,  and  accepted  by  Domenico.  The  trial  was  to  be  held  on 
Tuesday  in  Easter  week.  But  whether  it  was  that  the  challenger 
repented  of  his  rashness,  or  that  his  superiors  wisely  disapproved  of 
the  whole  affair,  on  Easter  Monday  Francesco  suddenly  left  Prato, 
on  the  plea  of  an  urgent  summons  to  Florence.^ 

Now,  in  the  Lent  of  1498,  the  same  two  preachers  were  actively 
engaged  at  Florence,  Domenico  occupying  the  Duomo,  which  Fra 
Girolamo  had  vacated,  and  Francesco  preaching  at  Santa  Croce. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  Savonarola  had  been  finally  silenced  that 
matters  reached  a  crisis.  Then  it  was  that  Francesco,  on  Sunday, 
25th  March,  enforced  his  denunciations  of  Fra  Girolamo  by  a  fresh 
challenge  to  the  ordeal  by  fire.^  That  the  challenge  was  first  given 
by  the  Franciscan  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  The  fact  is 
clearly  stated,  not  merely  by  several  of  the  chroniclers,  but  in  more 
than  one  passage  of  the  Bonsi  despatches,  and  it  is  confirmed — if 
confirmation  were  needed — by  the  dates  given,  quite  independently, 
by  Benivieni  and  Landucci.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  determine  whether 
it  was  addressed,  as  Nardi  relates,  and  as  Francesco  subsequently 
affirmed,  to  Fra  Girolamo  personally;  or  whether,  as  Benivieni  and 
others  tell  us,  its  tenor  was  more  general,  expressing  the  willingness 
of  the  challenger  to  enter  the  fire  with  any  one  who  might  choose  to 
maintain,  by  such  a  trial,  the  nullity  of  Savonarola's  excommunica- 
tion and  the  genuineness  of  his  prophetic  mission.^     On  the  one 

^  Burlamacchi,  p.  127.  Burlamacchi,  as  is  natural,  attributes  Francesco's 
hasty  departure  to  a  mere  pretext  (partissi  con  gran  fretta  .  .  .  fece  sua 
scusa,  etc.). 

■•'  The  date  is  given  by  Benivieni.  Landucci  supplies  that  of  Domenico's 
counter-challenge  (27th  March),  though,  in  common  with  Pulinari  and  others, 
he  supposes  that  Domenico  took  the  initiative. 

2  "  E  che  da  ora  era  contento  disporsi  ad  entrare  nel  fuoco  .  .  .  se  il  detto  Fra 
G.  voleva  ancora  egli  entrare  nel  fuoco  seco "  (Nardi,  ed.  Gelli,  i.  117). 
"  Rispondeva  (Francesco)  .  .  .  che  aveva  electo  Fra  Girolamo  perch^  cessassi 
al  tutto  questo  male,"  etc.  {Sottoscrizione  dei  Frati  Mi>ion\  in  Villari,  ii.  Doc. 
xviii.).  On  the  other  hand,  Burlamacchi  writes  :  "  Cominciu  .  .  .  ad  exclamar 
contro  di  loro,  provocando  di  nuovo  /".  Donienico  all'  experiiiiento "  (p.  127); 
while  Benivieni  reports  that  "  invito  qtiahtnche"  (Gherardi,  p.  216). 


328  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

hand,  no  one  could  know,  so  well  as  Francesco  himself,  what 
Francesco  had  actually  said  or  intended,  and  we  know  of  no 
sufficient  reason  why  he  should  be  disbelieved.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  tide  of  feeling  ran  so  high,  that  each  party  was  only  too 
ready  to  attribute  to  the  other  unworthy  motives  and  disingenuous 
conduct.!  The  simplest  explanation  of  the  conflicting  evidence 
appears  to  us  to  lie  in  a  single  clause  of  Vivoli's  narrative.  Accord- 
ing to  him  Francesco  had  declared  his  willingness  to  undergo  the 
ordeal  "con  lo  adversario."^  Let  it  be  supposed  that  by  "the 
adversary"  he  meant  Savonarola,  but  that  he  was  understood  to 
mean  Domenico,  or  any  other  champion,  and  the  whole  difficulty 
disappears.  This,  at  any  rate,  is  the  solution  which  is  most  credit- 
able, or  least  discreditable,  to  all  parties.  And  believing,  as  we  do, 
in  the  good  faith  of  both,  it  is  the  solution  which  commends  itself 
to  us.^ 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  Savonarola  himself 
simply  ignored  the  challenge,  and  that  he  was  most  unwilling  that 
the  gauntlet  thus  thrown  down  should  be  taken  up  by  any  one  on 
his  behalf.  For  his  own  part,  says  Burlamacchi,  he  did  not  con- 
sider Francesco  as  an  adversary  worthy  of  his  notice  (con  esso  lui 
non  ebbe  mai  che  far  nulla),^  and  he  himself  tells  us  that  he  was  at 
first  most  strongly  opposed  to  Domenico's  action  in  the  matter,  and 
that  he  deeply  deplored  the  misplaced  and  importunate  zeal  of  those 
would-be  friends  who  strove  to  bring  the  dispute  to  a  head.^ 

1  "Ipse  nunc  fugam  quserit,"  writes  Benivieni  {loc.  cit.).  "  Poi  questo  frate 
mut6  parlare,"  says  Vivoli  (Villari,  p.  Ixxii.).  Burlamacchi  (p.  132)  makes 
Savonarola  himself  allege  that  "  egli  non  fu  da  lui  da  principio  provocato"  ; 
and  even  Pulinari  (Conti,  p.  370)  asserts  that  Francesco  at  first  expressed  himself 
as  willing  to  enter  the  fire  with  Domenico.  But  Burlamacchi's  memory  is  not 
always  to  be  trusted,  and  Pulinari  makes  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  the  first 
challenge  came  from  Domenico. 

"^  "  Si  messe  a  dire  in  pergamo  .  .  .  che  con  lo  adversario  era  parato  fame 
experimento,"  etc.  {loc.  cit.).  Vivoli  himself  supposes  that  by  "  lo  adversario  " 
Domenico  was  meant. 

2  We  do  not,  of  course,  profess  any  belief  whatever  in  the  good  faith  of  the 
scoundrels  who  fomented  these  disputes  for  their  own  bad  ends.  We  speak  only 
of  the  Dominicans  and  the  Franciscans  themselves. 

*  Burlamacchi,  p.  132.  We  pass  over  the  other  reasons  alleged  by  Burlamacchi, 
because  we  shall  presently  have  occasion  to  refer  to  the  published  protest  of 
Savonarola  himself,  which  belongs  to  a  somewhat  later  stage  of  the  proceedings, 

5  Savonarola's  confession  (Villari,  p.  clxxii.).  We  do  not  forget  that  this 
document  has  been  falsified,  but  Savonarola's  enemies  could  have  no  motive  for 
inserting  a  passage  which  is  altogether  creditable  to  him. 


THE  ORDEAL  32$ 

Unfortunately,  Fra  Domcnico  did  not  share  the  prudence  which, 
in  this  particular  at  least,  his  superior  showed.  On  27th  March  he 
published  a  series  of  "conclusions,"  or  theses,  which  are  described 
as  requiring  "  to  be  proved  by  supernatural  reasons  and  signs,"  and 
in  attestation  of  which  he  declared  himself  ready  to  enter  the  fire 
with  Francesco,  "  hoping,  by  the  power  of  God  our  Saviour,  and 
for  His  glory  and  the  confirmation  of  this  truth,  and  for  the  good  of 
souls,  to  come  forth  safe  and  unhurt."  Among  these  theses  the 
assertion  of  the  nullity  of  the  censures,  and  of  the  lawfulness  of  dis- 
regarding them,  occupies  only  the  last  place.^ 

The  affair  naturally  gave  rise  to  much  excitement  in  the  city,  and 
both  parties  were  cited  before  the  Signory  on  28th  March.  The 
object  which  their  magnificent  lordships  had  in  view  on  this  occasion 
was  not  (as  prudence  might  have  suggested)  to  quash  the  whole 
affair,  but  to  bring  the  question  at  issue  to  definite  terms,  which 
should  serve  as  the  basis  for  further  discussion  by  the  civic 
authorities.  As  far  as  we  can  gather  from  the  somewhat 
fragmentary  minutes  of  the  proceedings,  and  from  the  report  of 
the  Ten  to  Bonsi,  the  first  document  to  be  registered  was  the  paper 
published  by  Domenico.^  Then  Francesco  was  ordered  to  reduce 
his  challenge  to  writing.^  In  it  the  Franciscan  declares  that  he  is 
prepared  to  enter  the  fire  with  Fra  Girolamo,  but  that  with 
Domenico  he  has  no  quarrel  (cum  quo  nulla  est  dissidentia). 
Another  religious  of  his  order  is,  however,  quite  ready  to  undergo 
the  trial  with  Domenico,  under  the  presidency  of  an  impartial  judge 
and  in  presence  of  all  the  religious  (of  the  city,  or  of  both  Orders).-* 
Obviously  the  parties  were  at  cross  purposes,  and  before  the  Signory 

1  "  Conclusiones  rationibus  et  signis  siipernaturalibus  probanda.— Ecclesia 
Dei  indiget  reformatione.  Flagellabilur.  Renovabitur.  Florentia  quoque  post 
flagella  renovabitur  et  prosperabitur.  Infideles  convertenlur  ad  Christum.  Hsec 
autem  erunt  temporibus  nostris,  .  .  .  Non  observantes  (excomniunicationem) 
non  peccant"  (Marchese,  n.  24). 

»  It  is  probably  this  circumstance  which  has  given  rise  to  the  opinion,  expressed 
by  many  writers,  that  the  affair  originated  with  the  Dominicans.  Domenico  had 
replied  in  writing  to  Francesco's  verbal  challenge.  Hence  his  "sfida"  would 
hold  the  first  place  in  the  register  of  documents,  as  it  is  in  fact  given  first  in 
the  report  of  the  Ten. 

8  Hence  the  phrase  occurring  in  Francesco's  paper,  "  sum  paratus  adimiantiam 
et  requidtiotuin  Dominoriim  Florentinomm."  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  conclude 
from  these  words  that  the  Signory  had  instigated  him  to  throw  out  his  verb.il 
challenge  three  or  four  days  previously.  But  they  did  now  require  him  10  state 
his  terms  in  writing. 

*  Marchese,  loc.  cit. 


330  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

could  proceed  further,  a  direct  answer  must  be  given  to  one  or  other 
of  the  two  challenges.''  Accordingly,  Fra  Mariano  Ughi  (O.P.) 
subscribed  an  undertaking  to  undergo  the  trial  on  behalf  of  the  theses 
of  Fra  Domenico,  together  with  the  substitute  whom  Francesco  had 
promised  to  name.-  But  this  again  was  wide  of  the  mark,  as  is  plain 
from  the  terms  of  Francesco's  disfida.  The  parties  were,  therefore, 
again  summoned  before  the  Signory  on  the  following  day,  and  each 
addressed  the  Board.^  Fra  Domenico  declared  himself  not  merely 
ready  to  enter  the  fire,  but  also  to  undergo  any  other  ordeal  if  one 
more  dangerous  could  be  devised.  He  demanded  that  in  the 
undertaking  to  be  signed  by  Fra  Francesco  the  words  "  per  ignem  "  be 
explicitly  set  down.  Fra  Girolamo,  he  said,  was  destined  for  greater 
things,  and  that  his  time  was  not  yet  come.  And  whereas  the  challenge 
of  Fra  Francesco  had  been  addressed  to  Fra  Girolamo,  let  him  now 
consent  to  accept  himself,  Fra  Domenico,  in  his  place.  He  added 
that  this  was,  for  himself,  a  welcome  opportunity  (una  occasione 
desiderata).  Subsequently  he  again  asked  that  Francesco  would 
condescend  to  accept  himself  as  champion  (che  volessi  humiliarsi  a 
se),  because  Fra  Girolamo  was  reserved  for  greater  things  (a  essere 
actore  d'altre  maggiore  opere) ;  therefore,  let  the  name  of  Domenico 
be  substituted  in  the  challenge  for  that  of  Girolamo,  for  it  was  not  in 
his  power  to  constrain  Fra  Girolamo ;  and  perhaps,  he  added,  it 
would  be  contrary  to  the  will  of  God.  I  can,  however,  he  said, 
refer  the  matter  to  him.     Subsequently  he  spoke  as  follows : — 

"  There  are  two  ways  out  of  the  difficulty.  One  is  that  those  with 
whom  Fra  Girolamo  is  concerned  should  draw  up  terms  of  a  trial  or 
ordeal  with  him  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals  (!).  If  Fra 
Girolamo  be  worsted,  let  himself  and  his  brethren  be  slain,  banished,  etc.* 
But  if  he  should  be  victorious,  let  there  be  a  general  reform  and  renova- 
tion (chela  emendatione  et  universale  renovatione  si  facci,  etc.)  .  .  .  For 
Fra  G.  has  not  yet  accomplished  the  things  which  have  to  be  done.  Yet 
I  do  not  wish  to  oblige  him  to  accept  this  proposal.^    The  second  plan 


J  '*  Perche  le  soscriptioni  .  .  .  non  si  affrontano,"  say  the  Ten  to  Bonsi  (4th 
April,  Marchese,  ibid.),  "furono  fatte  le  infrascripte  subscriptioni,"  thereupon 
giving  those  of  Ughi  and  Rondinelli. 

"^  Ibid.     Ughi's  undertaking  is  dated  28th  March. 

^  The  minutes  of  Domenico's  reply  are  given  by  Lupi,  pp.  54-55)  of  Francesco's 
by  Villari,  p.  xci.     In  both  cases  the  proceedings  are  dated  29th  March. 

■•  The  text  changes  abruptly  from  the  singular  to  the  plural  :  "Che  se  fra 
G.  perde  e'  sieno  uccisi,  scacciati,"  etc. 

*  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  even  Savonarola  would  have  seriously 
entertained  the  notion  that  Alexander  in  person  could  be  expected  to  undergo 


THE  ORDEAL  33t 

would  be  for  Fra  F.  to  name  anyone  of  his  brclliren,  and  we  will  produce 
a  hundred  champions,  women,  children,  citizens,  nay,  even  men  of  your 
own  Order.^  Thereupon  P>a  Mariano  Ughi,  who  was  present,  offered  to 
enter  the  fire."'' 

Francesco,  on  his  side,  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  abide  by 
his  challenge.  He  did  not  presume  to  compare  himself  with  Fra 
Girolamo  either  in  learning  or  in  virtue ;  but  his  object  in 
challenging  him  was  to  put  an  end  once  for  all  to  the  mischief 
that  was  being  done ;  whereas,  if  Domenico  and  himself  should 
both  perish,  everything  would  be  in  confusion  as  before.  However, 
he  would  name  three  or  four  of  his  brethren,  among  whom  Domenico 
might  choose  whom  he  pleased.  Fra  Cliuliano  Rondinelli,  who,  how- 
ever, was  not  present,  offered  himself  for  the  purpose,  and  on  the 
following  day  signed  an  undertaking  to  undergo  the  ordeal  with 
Ughi.3  The  champions  finally  selected  on  either  side  were,  however, 
Rondinelli  and  Domenico. 

Savonarola,  for  his  part,  published  a  statement  of  his  own  views 
and  intentions  regarding  the  ordeal.  If  the  adversary  were  able  and 
willing  to  promise  that,  in  the  event  of  his  being  victorious,  the  reform 
of  the  Church  would  be  taken  in  hand,  he  would  enter  the  fire  with 
the  fullest  certainty  that  he  would  come  forth  unhurt.  But  the  matter 
of  the  excommunication  stands  in  no  need  of  a  proof  by  fire.  And 
as  for  his  prophecies,  he  has  not  sought  to  bind  any  one  to  believe 
in  these  further  than  he  feels  disposed.  "  We  do  but  exhort  men 
to  live  well,  and  to  this  end  there  is  need  of  the  fire  of  charity, 
of  the  miracle  of  faith  ;  all  the  rest  is  to  no  purpose."  As  for  others, 
those  who  truly  feel  themselves  inspired  to  undergo  the  ordeal,  will 
certainly  come  through  it  unhurt,  "if  the  experiment  takes  place, 
concerning  which  we  still  have  our  doubts^  As  for  himself,  he 
reserves  himself  for  a  greater  work,  for  which  he  will  be  most 
ready  to  give  his  life.     The  time  will  come  when  the  Lord   will 

the  ordeal  with  himself.  But  Burlamacchi  represents  him  as  professing  his 
willingness  to  enter  the  fire  in  a  trial  "con  quelli  di  Roma,"  i.e.  presumably 
with  a  champion  to  be  named  by  the  Pope,  and  in  his  presence  (p.  132). 

^  "  Et  anche  de'  vostri  frati."  Vostri  may  be  a  blunder  for  nostri,  but  the 
climax  seems  to  require  (as  the  text  has)  vostri.  Savonarola  was  on  friendly  terms 
with  some  at  least  of  the  Friars  Minor. 

'■^  Lupi,  loc.  cit.  Ughi,  as  has  been  said,  had  already  drawn  up  and  signed  a 
paper  to  this  effect. 

'  "Col  sopradecto  frate  "  ;  "the  above-named  fiiar "' being  Ughi  (Marchese, 
loc.  cit.).  It  is  clear,  from  a  document,  to  be  presently  referred  to,  tiiat  the  Signory, 
so  late  as  30th  March,  did  not  expect  Domenico  to  be  Rondinelii's  rival. 


332  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

show  forth  the  truth  by  supernatural  signs;  but  this  time  will  not 
be  determined  by  any  human  arbitrament.^ 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  motives  of  Savonarola  and  of 
Francesco  in  declining,  the  former  absolutely,  the  other  condition- 
ally, to  undergo  the  "  experiment,"  would  be  made  the  subject  of 
adverse  comment  by  their  respective  adversaries.  PuHnari  plainly 
hints  that  Savonarola  was  afraid ;  while  Benivieni,  as  has  been  seen, 
writes  of  Francesco  :  *'  Ipse  nunc  fugam  quserit."  But  it  is  wiser, 
perhaps,  to  respect  the  reasons  which  the  two  friars  themselves  gave 
for  their  conduct.^  It  is  particularly  to  be  noted  that  whereas  the 
Dominicans  plainly  express  their  confident  persuasion  that  a  miracle 
will  take  place,  Rondinelli,  in  his  undertaking,  just  as  plainly  says 
that  he  does  not  look  for  any  supernatural  intervention.  He  fully 
expects  that  both  champions  will  perish  in  the  flames  ;  but  he  is 
willing  that  this  should  come  to  pass  "for  the  good  of  souls," 
i.e.  rather  than  that  what  he  regarded  as  a  dangerous  error  should 
take  deeper  root.^  Herein  Savonarola  and  his  brethren  find  a  strong 
argument  in  their  own  favour.  If  the  Franciscans  did  not  expect  a 
miracle,  they  could  not  be  sure  of  the  truth  of  their  assertions." 
Yet,  when  Rondinelli  declined  to  believe  that  miracles  were  to  be 
had  on  demand,  he  was  only  giving  utterance  to  a  principle  which, 
as  has  been  seen,  Savonarola  himself  enunciated  in  slightly 
different  terms.  His  willingness,  notwithstanding,  to  enter  the  fire, 
may  as  reasonably  be  ascribed  to  a  mistaken  zeal,  as  the  readiness 
of  Fra  Domenico  to  believe  that  God  would  infallibly  confirm  his 
superior's  claims  by  a  supernatural  sign. 

Domenico  Buonvicino  and  Mariano  Ughi  were,  however,  by  no 
means  the  only  persons  who  declared  themselves  ready  to  stake 
their  lives    on    the    "conclusions"   published    on    behalf    of    Fra 

1  Villari,  ii.  147-48. 

'■i  In  addition  to  the  reasons  already  given,  Savonarola  is  said  to  have  alleged 
the  example  of  S.  John  Gualbert.  "  Bench^  fosse  uomo  di  gran  santita,  egli 
nondimeno  non  entro  in  fuoco,  ma  vi  mando  un  altro  de'  suoi  monaci,  parendoli 
che  I'ordine  di  quella  cosa  in  quel  tempo  cosl  richiedesse  ;  ovvero  fu  cosi  da  Dio 
spirato"  (Burlamacchi,  p.  133). 

3  His  words  are:  "  lo  .  .  .  me  obbligo  di  entrare  nel  fuoco  col  sopradecto 
frate  .  .  .  benche  io  credo  ardere ;  ma  per  salute  delle  anime  sono  molto 
contento." 

*  "  Eoruui  nos  miseret  et  piget,  quod  baibarica  heresi,  pro  re  sibi  incerta,  ul 
fatentur,  proposilum  moriendi  subire  velint,  et  in  propriam  necem  perpetua 
damnatione  ruant,  ut  alienoe  saluti  (ut  aiunt)  consulant."  (The  Friars  of  S. 
Marco  to  the  Pope,  3rd  April ;  Gherardi,  p.  220). 


THE  ORDEAL  333 

Girolamo.  Undertakings  similar  to  theirs  were  drawn  up  and  laid 
before  the  Signory  by  two  religious  of  distinguished  family,  both 
inmates  of  S.  Marco.  These  were  Fra  Malatesta  Sacramoro  da 
Rimini  and  Fra  Ruberto  Salviati.  The  Ten,  in  their  letter  to  Bonsi 
on  the  subject,  lay  particular  stress  on  the  ofTer  made  by  these  two 
friars,  and  Bonsi  did  not  fail  to  bring  it,  more  than  once,  under  the 
notice  of  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals. ^  But  more  than  this.  The 
brethren  of  S.  Marco  wrote  a  joint  letter  to  the  Pope  in  which  they 
set  forth  their  reasons  for  accepting  the  challenge  of  the  Franciscan 
preacher,  and  declared  that  every  one  of  them — and  they  numbered 
nearly  300 — was  ready  to  enter  the  fire,  under  assurances  from  Fra 
Girolamo  that  they  would  not  be  hurt.'^  But  this  unquestioning 
faith,  this  zeal  for  the  cause,  extended  far  beyond  the  comparatively 
narrow  limits  of  the  convent  walls.  Religious  and  laity  of  both 
sexes,  and  even  children,  expressed  their  eagerness  to  be  chosen 
as  champions  to  attest  the  truth  of  the  conclusions.  When  Fra 
Domenico,  preaching  in  the  Duomo  on  28tli  March,  referred  to  the 
matter,  a  multitude  of  women  rose  in  their  places,  and  with  loud 
cries  proclaimed  their  desire  to  be  allowed  to  undergo  the  trial. ^ 
The  brethren  of  S.  Marco,  in  their  letter  to  the  Pope,  do  not  fail  to 
call  his  attention  to  these  evidences  of  religious  enthusiasm,  to 
which  they  confidently  appeal  as  a  sign  of  the  justice  of  their  cause, 
and  which  they  naturally  contrast  with  the  paucity  of  corresponding 
offers  made  on  the  side  of  Francesco.*     Indeed,  it  would  seem  that, 

*  Marchese,  loc.  cit.  ;  Gherardi,  pp.  221,  222. 
^  Gherardi,  p.  219. 

*  "  Qui  sono  tanti  che  desiderano  entrare  in  questo  fuoco  che  e  uno  stupore, 
cosl  secolari  come  religiosi,  come  femmine  et  giovanetti.  Diresti  che  fussino 
invitati  a  noze.  In  modo  che,  invitando  hier  mattina  F.  Domenico  ad  questo 
...  si  levorono  ad  un  tratto  molte  donne,  gridando  :  lo,  lo — etc."  So  writes 
Benivieni  to  his  friend  Fortunati  (29th  March  ;  Gherardi,  p,  216).  Pie  shrewdly 
surmises,  however,  that  the  whole  affair  will  end  in  smoke,  though  it  is  being 
pushed  forward  with  great  eagerness  by  the  friars  of  S.  Marco.  Fra  Placido 
Cinozzi  relates  how,  as  he  walked  one  day  in  the  convent  garden  with  Savonarola, 
a  boy  came  up  to  the  Father  to  offer  himself  for  the  ordeal,  Savf)narola  told  him 
that  God  did  not  require  this  of  him,  but  would  bless  his  good  purpose  {loc.  cit. 
p.  27  ;  Burlamacchi,  p.  134).  i 

*  "  Neque  modo  nos,  trecentos  pene  fratres,  sed  numerosam  quoque  non 
ignobilem  aut  rudem  populi  catervam,  utriusque  sexus,  et  aliarum  religionum 
plerosque,  ac  moniales  plurimas  hujusmodi  animi  Sanctitas  Vestra  esse  sciat : 
quos  profecto  non  vana  persuasio,  non  illecebrK  .  .  ,  fascinarunt,  sed  mens  recta, 
sincera  devotio  .  .  .  ardentissima  charitas  in  unum  conciliavit,"  etc.  On  the 
other  hand  :  "  Ex  adverse  quidem  perpaucos  invenire  licet,"  etc.  Savonarola 
himself,  according  to  BurlauKicchi,  confklently  alleged  this  general  enthusiasm  as 
a  sii^n  which  ought  to  be  enough  to  convince  any  man  of  gdod-will. 


334  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

besides  Rondinelli,  who  was  not  in  priest's  orders,  only  one  other 
member  of  the  Franciscan  house,  a  certain  Fra  Niccolb  Pilli,  had 
expressed  his  readiness  to  make  the  hazardous  experiment.^  And 
PiUi  appears  to  have  been  a  religious  of  not  very  edifying  life.- 
The  whole  affair,  as  reported  by  the  Ten,  but  more  especially  the 
formal  undertaking  of  Malatesta  and  of  Salviati,  appears  to  have 
made  a  deep  impression  on  Bonsi,  who  speaks  of  it  as  "a  wonderful 
thing  ...  for  which  our  Lord  God  is  very  greatly  to  be  thanked."  ^ 
Meanwhile,  on  30th  March,  a  debate  on  the  subject  was  held  in 
the  CoUegio.  The  numerous  blunders  of  the  official  reporter,  which 
can  be  only  conjecturally  amended,  reflect  the  strong  excitement  of 
the  moment  ;  and,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  effect  of  the  minutes  of  the 
discussion  is  singularly  graphic  and  life-like.  A  brief  summary  may 
be  of  interest. 

Antonio  Canigiani  holds  that  this  is  no  subject  for  discussion  in  the 
Palazzo.  It  should  rather  be  treated  of  in  Rome,  where  they  canonise 
saints.  As  for  ourselves  we  should  have  done  better  to  obey  the  Brief. 
It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  proposed  ordeal  will  heal  the  prevalent 
discord. 

Girolamo  Rucellai  agrees  with  Canigiani.  We  have  had  enough  of 
Frati  and  Arrabbiati  and  their  squabbles.  Let  us  attend  to  union  among 
ourselves.  If  an  ordeal  would  heal  the  discord  in  the  city,  let  them 
invoke  not  fire  only,  but  water  and  air  and  earth  ;  but  let  us  attend  to 
business,  not  to  these  Frati. 

Luigi  Corsi,  on  the  other  hand,  regards  the  matter  as  of  importance  to 
all  Christendom.  It  would  be  well,  however,  that  the  discussion  should 
be  left  to  ecclesiastics,  and  the  matter  referred  to  the  Vicar,  whose 
decision  should  be  upheld.  He  thinks,  however,  that  the  ordeal  may  be 
productive  of  much  good.  If  Savonarola  is  victorious,  it  will  be  an  honour 
to  the  city  to  possess  such  a  treasure.  If  both  perish,  we  shall  know  that 
we  have  been  deceived  (lavorati)  by  both  ;  and  then  the  citizens  can 
attend  to  the  common  weal. 

Giovanni  Canacci  is  ashamed  and  indignant  that  such  a  matter  should 
have  been  brought  forward.     Our  ancestors  would  have  blushed  to  think 

^  Burlamacchi,  p.  137. 

2  Filipepi,  p.  483. 

3  "  Parnii  cosa  maravigliosa  et  da  dovere  muovere  ogni  persona,  et  da  doverne 
essere  obbligatissimo  al  nostrc  Signore  Iddio  "  (Gheraidi,  p.  221).  And  again: 
"Et  referendo  parlicolarmenlc  .  .  .  le  perfecte  conditioni  et  quality  di  Fra 
Malatesta  .  .  .  risposi  che  non  era  da  credere  s'ingannassi  un  tanto  uomo" 
(p.  222);  and  even  Cardinal  Sforza  declared  that  he  esteemed  Malatesta  "per 
un  Imomo  pcrfecto,"  but  that  he  regretted  his  having  mixed  himself  up  in  this 
affair  {ibid.).  The  undertakings  of  Malatesta  and  Salviati  are  given  by  Burla- 
macchi, pi-.  135-36. 


THE  ORDEAL  335 

it  possible  that  such  matters  should  be  discussed  by  us,  which  make  us 
the  laughing-stock  of  the  world.  Let  the  Signory  deli\er  us  from  this 
disgrace  without  more  ado.  Fire,  air,  or  water  are  all  one  to  him  if  only 
the  city  may  be  pacified. 

Nero  del  Nero. — This  is  an  ecclesiastical  matter  ;  let  us  leave  it  alone 
and  tell  these  friars  to  leave  it  alone  too,  and  to  preach  the  Word  of  God. 

Girolamo  Capponi  has  no  particular  desire  to  see  a  miracle.  Let  the 
Signory  turn  the  matter  over  to  the  Vicar,  and  let  the  city  reform  itself, 
and  put  a  stop  to  the  nocturnal  lawlessness  of  some  of  our  young  men. 

Guidantonio  Vespucci.— It  is  an  evil  generation  which  seeketh  a  sign, 
and  we  are  only  facilitating  matters  for  them.  It  would  be  well  if  one 
who  lays  claim  to  supernatural  powers  could  prove  them  without  com- 
mitting homicide.  The  affair  is  a  fad  (gara)  of  the  friars,  whose  busy 
tongues  are  the  cause  of  a  great  part  of  our  dissensions.  If  there  is  to  be 
an  ordeal,  let  him  undergo  it  on  whose  behalf  we  are  contending,  if  indeed 
we  are  contending  for  him. 

Agnolo  Niccolini. — If  the  ordeal  would  benefit  the  city,  I  should  be  in 
favour  of  it  ;  but  it  is  more  likely  to  breed  scandal.  It  would  be  much 
better  to  write  to  the  Pope  about  it,  and  let  him  send  a  bishop  to  preside  ; 
and  let  the  condition  be  that  if  the  Friar  wins  we  shall  hear  no  more  of 
the  interdict. 

Antonio  Malegonelle. — The  matter  is  in  substance  ecclesiastical,  but 
it  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  champions  have  maturely  considered  what 
they  are  about.  And  as  they  have  come  to  terms,  it  is  our  business  to  see 
that  the  affair  is  rightly  carried  out.  Under  other  circumstances  it  might 
be  well  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  Pope.  But,  as  things  are,  it  will  be  best 
to  carry  it  through,  and  then  we  shall  know  the  truth.  Let  the  Signory 
take  good  care  that  neither  party  be  suffered  to  shirk  the  trial. 

Antonio  Strozzi  thinks  that  for  the  declaration  of  the  truth  one  miracle 
is  as  good  as  another.  Why  not  let  them  try  an  experiment  unattended 
with  risk  of  life.?  They  might  undertake  to  cross  the  Arno  without 
getting  wet.'  Let  them  obtain  the  permission  of  their  superiors.  But  he 
greatly  desires  to  see  some  decisive  sign. 

Francesco  Gualterotti. — It  does  not  belong  to  you  either  to  enforce 
the  affair,  or  to  give  permission  for  it.  But  as  the  parties  have  arranged 
their  own  terms,  the  matter  will  turn  to  our  advantage  (le  cose  sono 
venute  a  termine  desiderato).  Encourage  them  to  carry  out  their  plan, 
and  take  good  care  that  no  one  shirks  his  part. 

Luca  Corsini. — The  fire  of  dissension  is  ablaze  already.  Let  the  matter 
proceed,  for  it  has  gone  too  far  to  allow  of  its  being  quashed. 

Ormanozzo  Deti. — Let  the  affair  proceed,  though  for  my  part  I  don't 
think  much  will  come  of  it,  since  the  person  who  is  most  concerned  is 
putting  another  in  his  place. 


'  According  to  Nardi,  one  of  the  speakers  suggested  that  the  fiiars  might  be 
accommodated  with  a  vessel  of  warm  water  in  which  they  mit;ht  try  their  experi- 
ment with  less  discomfort. 


336  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Domenico  Mazzinghi  (a  firm  supporter  of  Savonarola)  would  have  the 
matter  to  go  forward,  "  for  this  miracle  will  lend  to  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  peace  of  the  city." 

Several  speakers  in  succession  express  themselves  in  favour  of  the 
trial.  Among  them,  Soderini  thinks  that  God  should  be  thanked 
for  this  opportunity ;  for  since  the  friars  have  committed  themselves 
to  definite  conclusions,  the  issue  must  needs  be  for  the  honour  of 
God.  Lorenzo  Lenzi  advises  that  public  prayers,  processions,  and 
works  of  charity  should  be  undertaken,  with  a  view  to  a  happy  issue. 
Of  the  rest,  some  are  strongly  in  favour  of  the  ordeal,  two  are  in 
favour  of  cold  water,  as  less  dangerous  to  life,  two  are  afraid  that 
the  affair  will  lead  to  a  tumult,  and  two  are  heartily  ashamed  of  the 
whole  business.  Some  support,  others  oppose,  the  proposal  to  refer 
the  case  to  Rome,  or  to  the  Vicar  of  the  Archbishop.  Braccio 
Martelli  rather  appositely  remarks  that  one  who  is  ready  to  enter 
the  fire  ought  not  to  be  afraid  to  go  to  Rome.  Agnolo  de'  Bardi 
would  like  to  see  the  experiment  tried  on  all  the  friars. 

The  result  of  the  division  on  the  question  as  to  whether  the 
experiment  should  be  allowed  to  take  place,  is  not  recorded  in  the 
official  report  of  the  debate  as  published  by  Lupi.  But  that  the 
result  was  a  vote  in  the  affirmative  sense  is  implied  by  another 
document  published  by  Villari,  and  bearing  the  same  date  (30th 
March),  in  which  the  conditions  of  the  trial  are  laid  down.  The 
document  commences  with  a  long  preamble,  which  states  that  a 
controversy  has  arisen  between  the  religious  of  S.  Marco  and  the 
Minorites ;  that  the  Dominicans  have  published  certain  conclusions 
which  the  Franciscans  deny  ;  that  one  of  each  party  has  given  an 
undertaking  in  writing  that  he  is  ready  to  enter  the  fire  with  the 
other,  on  the  understanding  that  credence  is  reasonably  to  be  given 
to  him  who  shall  come  forth  unhurt ;  and  which  declares  that  the 
motive  for  the  decision  arrived  at  is  the  desire  to  put  an  end,  in 
every  event,  to  the  popular  dissension  now  prevalent.^  The 
decision  is,  that  if  the  Dominican  champion  should  perish  in  the 
flames,  then  Savonarola  and  Domenico  are  to  incur  the  penalty  of 
perpetual  banishment.^     If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Franciscan  alone 

*  *'  Convenerunt  ad  invicem,  promictentes  eorum  propria  manu  se  (sic)  sub- 
scribendo  papirum  .  .  .  ut  ex  igne  cxeunti  inleso  rationabiliter  credi  possit  ;  ad 
hoc,  ut  seditio  popularis  tollatur  e  medio  in  omni  eventu  eorum  altercationis " 
(Villari,  p.  xcii. ). 

2  It  is  clear  that  Domenico  was  not  then  expected  to  be  the  actual  champion. 


THE  ORUEAL  33> 

should  pcrisli,  the  same  penalty  is  declared  against  Francesco  di 
Puglia  and  l"ra  Lorenzo  Corsi.  But  if  both  should  perish,  then  the 
penalty  is  to  fall  on  the  Dominicans  alone.  Lastly,  if  either  party 
should  fail  to  carry  out  its  undertaking,  this  party  will  incur  the 
sentence  of  banishment  aforesaid. 

The  clause  by  which  it  is  ordained  that,  if  both  champions 
should  perish,  the  Dominicans  alone  were  to  be  punished,  seems  at 
first  sight  a  very  one-sided  arrangement.  But,  on  a  closer  scrutiny, 
it  appears  to  be,  after  all,  not  unreasonable.  From  one  point  of 
view,  Domenico  might  rightly  be  regarded  as  the  aggressor.  The 
Signory  take  account  only  of  written  documents  duly  attested,  and 
of  such,  he,  and  not  his  rival,  had  put  forth  the  first.  Moreover,  it 
was  he,  or  his  representative,  who  claimed  to  sustain  certain  positive 
conclusions,  confessedly  not  pertaining  to  the  Catholic  faith  as  such, 
which  needed  to  be  established  by  a  miracle.  The  other  party 
guaranteed  no  miracle.  They  only  maintained  that  if  a  miracle 
were  to  take  place,  it  would  not  be  on  the  side  of  Domenico.  The 
death  of  both  champions  would  then  be  (according  to  the  terms  of 
their  "sfida")  a  clear  indication  that  God  did  not  intend  to  confirm 
in  this  fashion  the  assertions,  prophetic  or  otherwise,  advanced  by 
Domenico  on  behalf  of  Savonarola.  Nor  is  it  at  all  clear  that  this 
decision  was  revoked  by  another  which  is  recorded  as  having  been 
arrived  at  a  few  days  later,  viz.  on  6th  April.  In  this  it  is  set  down 
that  if  Fra  Domenico  should  perish,  Savonarola  is  to  be  regarded  as 
a  rebel,  and  must  leave  the  city  within  three  hours.  Nothing  is 
here  said  of  Francesco  or  Corsi.  But  if  the  resolution  may  be 
understood  as  supplementing  the  former  one,  it  only  fixes  a  limit  of 
time  within  which  the  sentence,  in  Savonarola's  case,  is  to  be  carried 
out.  It  is  obvious  that  on  the  hypothesis  that  Fra  Girolamo  should 
be  proved  (on  his  acknowledged  champion's  own  terms)  to  have 
been  a  deceiver  of  the  people,  there  was  prima  facie  a  stronger 
reason  for  insisting  upon  his  immediate  withdrawal  than  existed  in 
the  case  of  Francesco,  who  had  achieved  but  a  very  inferior 
notoriety,  and  of  whom  it  could  not  be  pretended  that  he  was  a 
power  in  the  city.  At  the  same  time  it  is  possible  that  the  second 
resolution  was  the  result  of  a  vote  taken  in  haste,  that  it  was 
intended  as  revoking,  and  not  as  supplementing  the  previous 
arrangement,  and  that  it  was  the  outcome  of  the  activity  of  Fra 
Girolamo's  enemies.  But  there  is,  we  submit,  no  proof  that  this  was 
SO. 


338  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

The  "cimento,"  as  it  was  called,  was  originally  fixed  for  Friday, 
6th  March.  But  on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  if  we  may  trust  the 
unsupported  statement  of  Lionardo  Strozzi,  a  message  reached  S. 
Marco  that  the  event  had  been,  by  command  of  the  Signory, 
postponed  till  the  Saturday.^  It  would  seem  that  it  was  at  first 
proposed  to  hold  the  ordeal  in  the  afternoon,  but  that  Fra  Girolamo 
expressed  a  preference  for  the  morning,  on  the  ground  that  sobriety 
was  the  best  preparation  for  such  a  function.  The  place  appointed 
was  the  Piazza  of  the  Signory. 

The  two  communities  of  S.  Marco  and  Santa  Croce  prepared  for 
the  ordeal  by  prayer  and  fasting.  Burlamacchi  and  others  describe 
the  processions  which  were  held  in  the  former  convent,  and  mention 
that  the  brethren  had  permission  to  fast  thrice  in  the  week  on  bread 
and  water ;  while  Pulinari,  on  his  side,  speaks  in  some  detail  of  the 
austerities  practised  on  the  occasion  by  the  Franciscans.^  However 
much  Fra  Girolamo  may  have  regretted  the  rashness  of  his  too  eager 
companion,  it  is  clear  that  he  was  determined  to  take  every  pre- 
caution against  malice  or  accident.  He  sent  Fra  Malatesta  and 
Francesco  Davanzati  to  the  Signory  to  beg  that  measures  might  be 
taken  to  secure  that  the  competitors  should  unmistakably  pass  through 
the  fire.^  A  platform  was  erected  in  the  middle  of  the  Piazza  della 
Signoria,  on  which  the  piled-up  fuel  was  so  arranged  as  to  form  an 
avenue  through  which  the  two  friars  were  to  walk.  Savonarola 
requested  that  the  pile  should  be  ignited  at  the  further  end,  so  that 
there  should  be  no  means  of  escape  in  that  direction,  and  that  as 
soon  as  Domenico  and  Francesco  had  entered  the  narrow  passage, 
the  fuel  behind  them  should  be  at  once  set  on  fire.  There  would 
thus  be  no  possibility  of  fraud,  and  no  opportunity  for  cowardice. 
Such  at  least  was  the  ostensible  motive  for  the  arrangement.  But 
another  reason  has  been  assigned  for  the  request.     Pulinari  ascribes 

^  Strozzi  to  Francesco  Fortunati,  6th  April  (Periens,  p.  380).  The  writer 
suggests  that  the  Signory  have  postponed  the  cimento  in  hopes  of  receiving  a  Brief 
from  Rome  prohibiting  the  whole  affair.  He  thinks  it  will  not  come  off.  It  is, 
perhaps,  more  probable  that,  in  view  of  the  enthusiasm  of  Savonarola's  followers, 
they  wished  to  gain  time  for  the  decision  as  to  the  more  stringent  terms  under 
which  the  penalty  of  banishment  was  (conditionally)  decreed  against  Savonarola 
on  6th  April. 

^  Conti,  p.  372. 

'  Examination  of  Davanzati  (Villari,  ii.  p.  ccxlvii.).  In  Savonarola's  own 
examination  (p.  clxxiii.),  and  in  Mariano's  narrative  embodied  in  Pulinari's 
chronicle  (Conti,  p.  371),  Malatesta  is  named  in  place  of  Davanzati.  Probably 
both  were  sent  at  different  times. 


THE  ORDEAL  339 

the  message  of  Savonarola  to  a  desire  to  give  to  the  whole  affair  as 
terrible  an  appearance  as  possible,  in  the  hope  that  Domenico's  rival 
would  be  frightened  at  the  sight  of  the  preparations  made,  and  that 
thus  the  ordeal  might  be  avoided.  And  this  version  of  the  matter 
would  seem  to  be  confirmed  by  Savonarola's  confession  at  his  trial. 
But  the  statements  found  in  this  confession,  so  far  as  they  are  un- 
favourable to  Fra  Girolamo,  are  deservedly  open  to  the  gravest 
suspicion  ;  and  it  may  be  that  Pulinari's  version  of  the  story  is 
based,  so  far  as  this  particular  is  concerned,  on  that  untrust- 
worthy document.^ 

The  Signory  made  somewhat  elaborate  arrangements  for  the 
avoidance  of  a  tumult.  The  measures  which  were  taken  are 
described  in  detail  by  Somenzi,  and  the  circumstance  that  he 
regarded  them  as  most  wise  rather  suggests  that  they  were  not 
altogether  impartial.  All  foreigners,  among  whom  the  Sienese  are 
particularly  mentioned,  were  ordered  to  leave  Florence.  The 
city  gates  were  closed,  none  but  persons  of  rank  being  allowed 
to  enter;  and  the  approaches  to  the  Piazza  were  barricaded,  with 
the  exception  of  three,  at  each  of  which  a  strong  guard  was 
placed.  The  carrying  of  arms  by  unauthorised  persons  was  strictly 
prohibited,  and  to  preserve  order  a  body  of  troops  was  stationed 
in  the  square,  while  the  sixteen  gonfalonieri  of  the  city  companies, 
each  in  command  of  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  men,  patrolled  the 
several  quarters  of  the  city.  Orders  were  sent  to  the  troops  before 
Pisa,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Siena,  that  on  no  pretext  were  they 
to  leave  their  posts.  Even  a  summons  from  the  Ten  was  to  be 
disregarded,  and  no  message  was  to  be  obeyed  unless  it  came  direct 
from  the  Signory.  "  Then,"  adds  Somenzi,  "  they  summoned  all  the 
chiefs  of  the  party  of  the  Frateschi  .  .  .  and  kept  them  within  the 
palace."  This,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  is  the  open  avowal  of  a 
witness  bitterly  hostile  to  Fra  Girolamo,  though  we  are  rather  inclined 
to  think  that  in  this  particular  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought, 
and  that  so  obviously  one-sided  a  step  was  not  really  taken.  At  any 
rate,  no  complaint  on  this  head  is  made,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  by 
the  friends  of  Savonarola  who  have  put  on  record  their  reminiscences 

'  "  G.  B.  Ridolfi  told  me  that  the  Franciscan  would  never  enter  the  fire  ;  and 
such,  in  fact,  was  my  own  belief.  Now,  if  he  were  not  to  enter,  our  man  was  not 
bound  to  enter.  Wherefore  ...  to  frighten  him  the  more,  I  took  measures  that 
the  fire  might  be  a  big  one,"  etc.  Pulinari's  account  corresponds,  clause  by  clausci 
with  that  of  the  confession. 


340  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

of  this  fateful  day.  But  there  is  a  matter  of  which  they  do  complain, 
and  of  which  Somenzi  has  made  no  mention.  In  one  corner  of  the 
Piazza,  Doffo  Spini  was  allowed  to  station  himself,  with  some  hundreds 
of  armed  followers,  many  of  them  mounted,  and  their  presence  was 
nothing  short  of  an  open  menace  to  Savonarola  and  his  supporters. 
So  far  as  we  can  see,  the  only  explanation  of  the  permission  thus 
accorded  to  the  Compagnacci  is  that  they  were  allowed  to  be  present 
under  arms  ostensibly  with  a  view  to  keeping  order,  and  as  watching 
the  event  in  the  interests  of  the  Franciscans.^  For,  in  addition  to 
the  main  body  of  troops,  under  the  command  of  Gioacchino  della 
Vecchia,  the  Constable  of  the  Palazzo,  there  was  also  a  special  guard, 
captained  by  Marcuccio  Salviati,  the  firm  friend  of  Savonarola,  drawn 
up  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Palazzo,  where  a  space  had  been 
set  apart  for  the  religious  of  the  two  Orders. ^  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  would  perhaps  have  been  difficult,  though  it  would  certainly 
have  been  desirable,  to  insist  on  the  disarming  and  disbanding  of 
Spini's  company.  But  we  shall  have  occasion  to  return  to  this  matter 
a  little  later. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  after  celebrating  High  Mass,  Savona- 
rola made  a  brief  address  to  his  brethren  and  the  faithful  assembled 
in  S.  Marco.  He  reminded  them  that  there  were  two  kinds  of 
prophecy,  absolute  (as  when  Isaiah  said  :  "  Behold  a  virgin  shall 
conceive  ")  and  conditional  (as  when  Jonah  proclaimed  that  Nineveh 
should  be  destroyed).  In  the  course  of  the  previous  night  he  had 
received  a  divine  intimation  of  each  kind.     That  under  all  circum- 

1  With  naive  simplicity  Pulinari  suggests  that  God  Himself  provided  this  pro- 
tection for  his  brethren  !  "  Ed  ecco  li  cuori  di  molti  giovani  li  quali  erano  de'  piu 
nobili  .  .  .  della  cittk,  che  del  tutto  armati  sedevano  sopra  cavalli  barbati  .  ,  . 
Costoro  con  gran  strepito  entrarono  in  Piazza  in  favore  e  difesa  de'  Frati  (minori), 
la  qual  compagnia  nel  volgo  si  chiamo  il  Compagnaccio  ;  e  ben  parve  che  IdJio  la 
mandasse  loro  e  che  lafussi  loro  a  uopo  "  (Conti,  p.  374)- 

^  There  seems  every  reason  to  suppose  that  della  Vecchia  was  well  disposed  to 
Savonarola.  Villari  says  that  on  the  following  day  he  enforced  the  orders  of  the 
Signory  against  the  defenders  of  S.  Marco  ;  but  this  is  an  error,  as  will  appear 
in  the  sequel.  Both  Salviali  and  della  Vecchia  are  mentioned  in  the  "  process' 
of  Fra  Girolamo.  "  Marcuccio  Salviati  mi  fu  menalo  da  Fra  Ruberto  suo  fratello 
inanci  al  caso  del  fuoco  .  .  .  per  che  io  lo  confortassi  al  ben  vivere  et  cosl  fei  : 
et  hebbilo  caro  per  haverlo  amico :  et  lui  mi  fece  molte  proferte  inanci  si  partisse  ; 
dicendo  io  metterei  la  vita  per  voi.  Intesi  Giovanni  della  Vecchia  che  era  nostro 
amico  da  frate  Cosimo  Tornaboni  ;  il  che  hebbi  charo  ;  ma  non  li  parlai  mai " 
(Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  clxii.).  It  is  possible  that  the  words  which  we  have 
italicised  are  an  addition  by  Ser  Ceccone,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
substantial  truths  of  the  passage. 


THE  ORDEAL  341 

stances  thry  would  be  victorious,  this  he  declared  to  be  unconditionally 
predestined.'  But  whether  the  experiment  would  take  place  or  no, 
on  this  point  he  had  received  no  certain  knowledge.  He  inclines 
to  the  belief  that  it  will  take  place,  seeing  that  such  preparations 
have  been  made,  but  God  has  not  revealed  this  secret  to  him.^ 
The  discourse  began  and  ended  with  a  fervent  exhortation  to 
prayer. 

All  the  authorities  agree  in  contrasting  the  arrival  and  subsequent 
conduct  of  the  two  communities.  The  Franciscans  were  first  on 
the  ground.2  They  came  without  pomp  or  ceremony,  and  on  their 
arrival  quietly  awaited  the  sequel,  while  their  two  champions,  Francesco 
and  Rondinelli,  betook  themselves  to  the  chapel  of  the  Signory,  where 
they  engaged  in  prayer.*  Pulinari,  as  might  be  expected,  dwells  with 
complacency  on  the  absence  of  display  on  the  part  of  his  brethren. 
The  writers  on  the  other  side  tell  us  that  they  came  without  any 
signs  of  religious  observance,  "  as  if  to  see  a  tournament,"  that  they 
spent  the  time  gossiping  with  their  friends,  and  that  Francesco  and 
Rondinelli  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.^ 

The  Dominicans,  on  the  other  hand,  arrived  in  procession  about 
half  an  hour  later,  chanting  the  67th  Psalm  ;  "Let  God  arise  and  let 
His  enemies  be  scattered,"  and  others  expressive  of  their  assured 
hopes  of  victory.*^  Preceded  by  the  cross-bearer  and  the  religious  of 
S.  Marco,  vested  according  to  their  rank,  came  Fra  Domenico  in  a 

^  '*  Noi  habbiamo  havuto  sta  notte  cosa  assoluta  e  cosa  conditionata.  La 
assoluta  h  che  havemo  havere  vittoria  ad  ogni  modo,  e  questo  h  assoluto  e  pre- 
destinato."  The  discourse  is  printed  at  the  end  of  the  volume  oi  Prediche  sopra 
VEsodo. 

2  "  Credo  piu  presto  di  si  che  di  n6  :  perche  la  cosa  e  molto  innanzi :  pure 
questo  segreto  di  Dio  non  ho." 

3  This  is  asserted  not  only  by  Somenzi  and  Pulinari  (p.  372),  but  also  by  Nardi 
(p.  119). 

■»  Pulinari,  p.  374. 

'  "  Entrorno  .  .  .  senza  processione,  senza  paramenti,  senza  lume,  come  se 
avessino  andare  a  vedere  una  giostra  "  (Vivoli  ;  Villari,  p.  Ixxv.).  "  Stavansi  \k 
cicalando  con  secolari,  come  saccomanni  senza  religione  alcuna"  (Filipepi,  p.  482). 
Of  Francesco  Fra  Benedetto  says  :  "  Stavasi  su  fitto  non  so  dove  in  Palazzo  con 
quello  F.  Giuliano  (Rondinelli),  et  nessuno  di  loro  usciva  fuori"  (Villari,  p.  Ixxxiv.). 
As  a  set-off  against  these  gratuitously  ill-natured  innuendoes  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  Pulinari  always  speaks  of  the  Dominican  champion  by  his  sobriquet  as  Fra 
Domenico  Fattoraccio. 

*  Somenzi  says  "  half  an  hour "  later.  Pulinari  extends  the  delay  to  two  hours. 
The  evidence  as  to  the  duration  of  the  proceedings  is  rather  confusing.  Apparently 
the  event  was  fixed  for  10  a.m.,  or  thereabouts,  and  it  was  late  in  the  uticrnoon 
before  all  parties  returned  home. 


342  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

cope  of  cloth  of  gold,  and  after  him  Fra  Girolamo,  bearing  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  and  accompanied  by  some  sixty  men  bearing 
torches  and  the  familiar  red  crosses.  Having  placed  the  pyx  con- 
taining the  Blessed  Sacrament  on  an  altar  which  had  been  prepared 
beforehand  in  that  portion  of  the  Loggia  which  was  assigned  to  his 
community,  Fra  Girolamo  knelt  in  prayer  while  the  Psalms  and  the 
Litanies  were  being  sung.  If  Fra  Mariano's  memory  might  be 
trusted,  we  should  have  to  believe  that,  by  some  mistake — regarded 
by  the  Minorites  as  ominous  of  the  event— in  the  chanting  of  the 
Litanies  the  Franciscan  saints  were  invoked,  while  those  of  the 
Order  of  Preachers  were  omitted.  It  is  to  be  supposed,  gravely 
observes  Pulinari,  that  they  were  ashamed  to  invoke  their  own 
saints,  who  would  surely  be  aware  of  their  excommunication,  while 
they  perhaps  imagined  that  S.  Francis  and  his  companions  had  not 
heard  of  it.  The  remark  is  foolish  enough,  but  it  serves  to  show  the 
state  of  feeling  which  prevailed,  and  the  incredible  simplicity  of  men 
who  were,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  very  much  in  earnest.  The  same 
writer  further  asserts  that  the  petition  for  the  humiliation  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Church  was  also  omitted.  As  for  the  Franciscans, 
they  could  take  no  part  in  public  prayer  with  those  whom  they  re- 
garded as  excommunicate,  and  contented  themselves  with  answering 
by  a  silent  "  Amen "  the  various  invocations.  Their  silence,  how- 
ever, was  (if  we  may  believe  Pulinari)  interpreted  by  the  supporters 
of  Savonarola  as  indicative  of  fear,  and  they  had  to  endure  many 
taunts  and  gibes  on  the  score  of  their  faint-heartedness.  And  so, 
he  adds,  they  stood  there  like  lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves,  shivering 
with  cold  and  hunger,  but  trusting  in  God,  for  the  defence  of  whose 
Church  they  had  come  thither. 

That  a  long  and  tedious  delay  now  ensued,  occasioned  by  certain 
preliminary  negotiations,  is  agreed  on  all  hands.  It  is  not  so  clear 
to  which  of  the  two  parties  the  delay  is  to  be  principally  ascribed. 
Each,  of  course,  lays  the  blame  on  the  other ;  and  a  comparison  of 
the  several  narratives  leads  to  no  certain  conclusion,  but  only  to 
conjecture  more  or  less  probable.  This  much,  however,  is  beyond 
question.  The  two  Franciscans  stayed  within  the  palace  in  im- 
mediate communication  with  the  authorities.  Savonarola,  on  the 
other  hand,  remained  at  his  post  before  the  altar,  while  Domenico 
came  and  went,  consulting  his  superior  at  each  stage  of  the  proceed- 
ings, so  that  to  the  casual  observer  it  might  seem  that  he,  rather 
than  Francesco,  was  protracting  the  affair ;  and  it  is  likely  enough 


THE  ORDEAL  343 

that,  as  Filipcpi  asserts,  rumours  to  this  effect  were  diligently  circu- 
lated by  the  enemies  of  Fra  Girolamo. 

But  what  were  the  negotiations  about?  According  to  the 
Dominican  account,  Francesco  began  by  demanding  that  Domenico 
should  change  not  merely  his  vestments  but  his  habit,  and  even 
— according  to  some — his  inner  garments,  lest  perchance  they  should 
have  been  "enchanted."  Savonarola  at  first  objected,  but  finally 
yielded  at  the  instance  of  Piero  degli  Alberti.  Pulinari  simply  says 
that  the  Franciscans  proposed  that  both  parties  should  change  their 
clothes,  and  that  this  was  done.  Believing,  as  we  do,  in  the  good 
faith  of  the  Franciscans  no  less  than  of  their  rivals,  we  are  inclined 
to  think  that  in  this  particular  their  version  of  the  story  is  the  true 
one ;  possibly  the  change  of  raiment  was  intended  as  a  precaution 
not  merely  against  "  enchantment,"  but  against  any  i)hysical  pro- 
tection from  the  effects  of  the  fire  which  either  party  might  have 
been  tempted  to  adopt.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  Dominican  account  is  very  circumstantial,  for  not  only  is 
Alessandro  Strozzi  named  as  the  religious  with  whom  Domenico 
actually  exchanged  garments,  but  it  is  further  related  that  when  he 
was  summoned  for  the  purpose  by  Savonarola,  believing  that  he  was 
to  be  called  upon  to  enter  the  fire,  he  came  forward  with  great 
alacrity,  kneeling  for  his  superior's  blessing  with  the  words  Te  Deum 
laudatnus.  The  simplest  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  appears  to 
be  that  the  proposal  came  (as  Pulinari  admits)  from  the  Franciscans, 
who  were,  however,  content  that  their  own  champion  should  himself 
do  what  was  demanded  of  his  rival,  and  that  Savonarola  at  first 
demurred,  but  afterwards  yielded ;  while  the  question  of  Francesco's 
change  of  raiment  gave  rise  (as  was  natural  under  the  circumstances) 
to  no  discussion.  A  further  objection  seems  to  have  been  raised 
to  Fra  Domenico  entering  the  fire  with  a  crucifix  in  his  hands,  but 
the  witnesses  do  not  agree  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this  difficulty 
was  settled.  The  crisis  of  the  discussion  came,  however,  when  the 
Franciscans  understood  that  it  was  Domenico's  intention  to  carry 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  into  the  midst  of  the  flames.  Against  this 
proposal  the  Franciscans  at  once  objected.  It  was  dishonourable  to 
our  Lord ;  it  was  to  make  the  most  sacred  mysteries  of  the  Christian 
faith,  rather  than  the  truth  of  Domenico's  theses,  the  subject  of  the 
"  experiment " ;  and,  quite  apart  from  scholastic  answers  to  the 
scholastic  arguments  about  substance  and  accidents  brought  forward 
by   Domenico,  the  course  which   he    proposed    to  take  was   quite 


344  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

certain  to  provoke  scandal.  Nor  was  it  only  the  opponents  and  the 
enemies  of  Savonarola  who  perceived  the  force  of  these  objections. 
Nardi,  a  warm  admirer  of  Fra  Girolamo,  expresses  himself  on  the 
subject  not  less  explicitly,  if  less  emphatically,  than  Somenzi.i  xhis, 
then,  was  a  point  on  which  neither  the  Franciscans  nor  the  Signory 
could  be  expected  to  yield  ;  while  as  for  Domenico,  he  beUeved  that 
he  had  received,  mediately  or  immediately,  a  divine  intimation  on 
the  subject,  so  that  any  concession  on  his  side  was  out  of  the 
question.-  "  I  am  certain,"  he  afterwards  wrote  at  his  trial,  "  that 
I  should  not  have  been  burnt,  and  so  there  would  have  been  no 
scandal,  but  edification.  .  .  .  When  I  shall  stand  in  the  presence 
of  Christ  I  will  make  it  clear  to  all  these  people  whether  I  acted  of 
my  own  motion  or  by  the  will  and  inspiration  (movimento)  of  God, 
who  on  that  day  willed  that  it  should  be  so."  Every  one  is  aware, 
he  adds,  that  the  species  Sacramenti  can  be  destroyed,  much  more  he 
who  carries  them.  A  thousand  consecrated  Hosts  would  not  save 
from  destruction  a  man  who  had  not  the  truth  on  his  side.  "If 
then  scandal  arose,  God,  whose  will  I  carried  out,  will  reward  me ; 
for  I  have  gained  much  merit  from  this  .  .  .  grievous  persecution."  2 
Such  being  the  convictions  entertained  on  both  sides,  a  deadlock 
was  inevitable.  And  after  a  great  deal  of  time  had  been  expended 
on  a  fruitless  discussion  of  the  subject,  it  became  evident  that  the 
ordeal  could  not,  under  the  circumstances,  be  allowed  to  take  place. 
The  crowd  of  intending  spectators  had  now  been  kept  in  suspense 
for  many  hours,  and  had,  moreover,  been  drenched  by  a  heavy 
shower  of  rain.  Angry  murmurs  of  discontent  began  to  make 
themselves  heard;  and  even  had  the  Signory  been  as  favourably 
disposed  to  Savonarola  as  they  were  actually  hostile,  they  could 
hardly  have  acted  otherwise  than  they  did  by  bidding  both  parties 
return  home.  Each,  of  course,  claimed  a  moral  victory ;  each  laid 
the  blame  of  the  fiasco  on  the  other ;  but  that  Fra  Girolamo  saw 
very  clearly  that  the  issue  of  the  event  would  be  turned  to  his 

i  "  La  quale  cosa  alia  Signoria  ed  a  ciascheduno  altro  parve  inhonesta  et 
infanda  "  (Somenzi  to  Sforza,  7th  April ;  del  Lungo,  n.  39).  "  Non  vollono  .  .  . 
i  frati  minori  acconsentirlo,  allegando  molte  e  evidenti  ragioni,  con  dire  che 
ardendo  (come  naluralmente  potrebbe  ardere)  .  .  .  ne  seguirebbe  gran  cagione 
di  scandalizzare  le  menti  degli  uomini  deboli  e  ignoranti  "  (Nardi,  i.  120). 

2  "Ma  fu  rivelato  a  F.  Silvestro  Maruffi,  che  in  verun  modo  v'entrasse 
(Domenico)  senza  il  Sacramento"  (Burlamacchi,  p.  142). 

'^  Uomenico's  autograph  confession  (Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  cxcix.).  This 
valuable  document  has  fortunately  been  preserved  together  with  the  falsified 
version  of  the  same  which  was  drawn  up  by,  or  for,  the  Signory. 


THE  ORDEAL  345 

discredit  is  attested  by  his  request  that  the  Signory  would  provide  an 
escort  to  conduct  himself  and  his  brethren  to  S.  Marco  ;  whereas  in 
the  morning  he  had  been  content  with  his  own  unofficial  body-guard.^ 
The  escort  was  given,  and  under  its  protection  the  procession  re- 
turned, pursued  by  the  insults  and  execrations  of  Savonarola's 
declared  enemies,  with  whom  many  of  those  who  had  hitherto  been 
neutral,  or  even  friendly,  now  allied  themselves.  The  cry  was  that 
the  people  had  been  befooled  by  the  Friar.-  On  their  arrival  at 
S.  Marco,  Fra  Girolamo  mounted  the  pulpit  and  addressed  the 
women  who  had  persevered  there  in  prayer,  explaining  that,  as  the 
failure  of  the  ordeal  was  due  to  the  frivolous  and  fraudulent  pro- 
ceedings of  the  opposite  party,  the  result  must  be  considered  as 
entirely  favourable  to  the  cause  which  he  had  at  heart.^  The  Te 
Deum  was  then  sung.  Needless  to  say,  there  was  likewise  a  Te 
Deum  at  Santa  Croce.* 

So  far  as  regards  the  actual  facts,  concerning  which,  if  we  except 
the  incident  of  the  exchange  of  garments,  there  is  no  dispute.  It  is 
quite  otherwise  when  we  come  to  enquire  into  the  motives  and  inten- 
tions of  the  parties  concerned.  If  we  may  believe  Filipepi,  the 
Franciscan  champion  never  intended  to  enter  the  fire  at  all,  but  only 
to  supply  a  pretext  under  which  Doffo  Spini  and  his  gang  might 
attack  the  Frateschi,  and  slay  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  followers.^ 
Moreover,  he  declares  that  Doffo  had  made  arrangements  that  on  a 
sign  to  be  given  from  the  Palazzo  he  was  to  make  the  attack,  and, 
further,  that  the  sign  was  actually  given,  but  that  "  come  a  Die 
piacque  "  he  changed  his  mind.  All  this  he  professes  to  have  heard 
from  Spini  himself,  and  Vivoli  adds  the  circumstance  that  the  affair 
was  spoken  of  at  certain  social  or  convivial  meetings  which  used  to 
be  held  in  the  shop  of  Filipepi's  brother,  the  famous  painter,  Sandro 
Botticelli.^  Now,  that  Doffo  Spini  was  capable  of  any  crime  may 
readily  be  admitted  ;  that  he  had  been  actively  engaged  for  some 
time  past  in  plots  against  Fra  Girolamo  is  attested  not  merely  by 

1  Burlamacchi,  p.  143. 

"^  "  Fremeva  il  popolo  come  quasi  schernito  "  (Pitti,  p    52). 

'  Fra  Benedetto,  apud  Villari,  iii.  Append,  p.  xc. 

<  Tulinari,  p.  375. 

"  '*  Ma  .  .  .  il  disegno  dell'  altra  parte  non  era  in  veriia  di  voler  entrare  nel 
fuoco,  ma  di  fur  con  questa  occasione  tagliare  a  pezzi  da'  detti  giovani  (the 
Compagnacci)  fra  Girolamo  con  tut  It  li  stioi,  che  erono  da  150  />enciie"  etc. 
(Villari,  p.  4S1). 

"  Filipepi,  loc.  cit.  ;  Vivuli,  a/W  Villari,  ii.  .\i)pLnd.  p.  Ix.xiv. 


346  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Filipepi,  but  by  the  unfriendly  chronicler,  Cerretani  ;  ^  that  his 
presence  on  the  occasion,  together  with  a  band  of  armed  companions 
and  followers,  had  no  good  purpose  is  sufficiently  obvious ;  and  that 
a  sign  for  the  murderous  attack  which  he  probably  intended  to  make 
may  have  been  agreed  upon,  and  actually  given,  by  some  highly 
placed  traitor  in  the  Palazzo  we  can  well  beUeve.  But  it  would  not 
be  wise  to  accept,  as  the  plain  unvarnished  truth,  Filipepi's  recollec- 
tions of  what  a  contemptible  braggart  may  have  subsequently  said  in 
the  midst  of  his  boon  companions.  And  for  our  part,  we  see  no 
reason  whatever  to  doubt  the  good  faith  of  the  Franciscans.  The 
first  challenge,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  given  at  Prato,  where  it 
can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  machinations  of  the  Florentine 
Compagnacci  were  the  moving  cause.  Moreover,  the  earnest  prayers 
of  the  Franciscan  friars,  both  in  preparation  for  the  event  and  on  the 
day  itself,  hardly  leave  room  for  doubt  as  to  their  honesty  of  purpose. 
If  we  suppose  that  Spini  promised  Francesco  and  Rondinelli  that  he 
and  his  companions  would  protect  them  against  foul  play,  and  that 
he  afterwards  boasted  of  his  actual  intentions,  there  is  foundation 
enough  for  the  apocryphal  story  (as  we  believe  it  to  be)  that  they 
had  received  assurances  to  the  effect  that  the  ordeal  would  not  in 
any  case  be  allowed  to  take  place.  The  Signory  may  be  justly 
blamed  for  indiscretion  and  weakness,  if  not  for  partiality,  in  that 
they  allowed  Spini  and  his  armed  company  to  take  up  the  position 
which  they  occupied  in  the  Piazza.  And  there  may  perhaps  have 
been  one  or  more  among  their  number  who  would  have  been  glad  to 
see  Doffo's  party  violent  and  victorious.  But  there  is  at  least  no 
sufficient  ground  for  charging  them,  as  a  body,  with  complicity  in  all 
the  nefarious  designs  of  the  Compagnacci.  The  committee  appointed 
to  make  the  final  arrangements  was  fairly  chosen.  It  consisted  of 
four  members,  Alberti  and  Antinori  on  the  side  of  the  Franciscans, 
Gualterotti  and  Ridolfi  on  that  of  Savonarola ;  and  he  himself  could 
not  have  chosen  more  determined  supporters.'^  Vivoli  and  Fra 
Benedetto  both  incidentally  mention  the  courtesy  with  which 
Savonarola  was  treated,  during  the  wearisome  negotiations,  by 
Alberti,  nor  can  we  without  proof  take  their  word  for  it  that  this 
courtesy  was  nothing  better  than  a  mask  for  treachery.^     Lastly, 

^  Filipepi,  p.  484  ;  Villari,  ii.  139. 

2  The  names  are  given  by  Fra  Benedetto    (Villari,   ii.  Append,  p.  Ixxxiv.), 
and  by  Burlamacchi,  p.  140. 

'  Vivoli,  «/«<«/ Villarij  loc.  cit.,   p.  Ixxvi.  ;  Benedetto,  ibiJ.,  pp.  Ixxxv.  sqt^. 


THE  ORDEAL  347 

when  at  one  point  of  the  proceedings  the  aristocratic  ruffians  under 
command  of  Doffo  made  an  ugly  rush,  they  were  beaten  back  by 
Salviati's  guard  ;  ^  nor  did  they  again  proceed  to  open  violence 
until  the  following  day.  For  the  present  their  valour  exhausted 
itself  in  showering  insults,  as  has  been  said,  upon  Savonarola  and  his 
companions. 

It  only  remains  to  say  a  word,  in  conclusion,  about  the  views  of 
the  Pope  and  his  court  with  reference  to  the  ordeal.  Burlamacchi 
declares  that  the  Signory  wrote  to  the  Pope,  asking  his  permission 
for  the  carrying  out  of  the  cimento,  that  the  cardinals  assembled  in 
consistory  unanimously  decided  that  the  permission  should  be  refused, 
and  that  they  notified  this  decision  to  the  Signory,  but  that  the 
answer  came  too  late.  Burlamacchi  adds  that  "the  Pope  feared 
lest,  if  the  experiment  should  succeed,  he  should  lose  his  tiara  (la 
mitra),  and  this  was  why  he  refused  permission."  The  documents 
published  within  recent  years  enable  us  to  correct  these  statements ; 
nor  can  we  agree  with  Gherardi  that  Burlamacchi's  account  is  sub- 
stantially correct.  No  permission  was  asked  ;  though  the  Pope  was, 
of  course,  informed  of  the  matter  in  hand,  not  merely  through  Bonsi, 
but  also,  as  has  been  said,  by  a  letter  from  the  community  of  S. 
Marco  addressed  to  himself.  On  the  first  occasion  on  which  Bonsi 
mentioned  the  matter,  the  Pope  "  was  struck  with  astonishment  "  on 
hearing  of  the  undertaking  of  Domenico  and  Ughi  (stava  bene 
admirato  delle  subscription!  facte),  and  asked  if  the  affair  would 
really  be  carried  through.  Bonsi  replied  that  if  the  Pope  would 
absolve  Fra  Girolamo  the  matter  would  probably  go  no  further,  but 
that  otherwise,  under  stress  of  necessity,  it  would  go  forward,  unless 
the  Franciscans  should  change  their  mind.  Nor  was  it  until  8th 
March,  the  day  after  the  event  (though  the  news  of  it  had  not  yet 
reached  Rome),  that  the  Pope  and  Perugia  gave  expression  to  their 
strong  disapproval  of  the  experiment  (damnandolo  molto) ;  a  position 
from  which  Bonsi  in  vain  endeavoured  to  move  them  by  insisting  on 
tlie  high  qualities  of  Malatesta  and  Salviati.  On  the  following  day 
two  of  the  Cardinals  declared  to  Bonsi  that  the  affair  had  given  the 
greatest  displeasure  to  the  court,  principally  because  one  of  the  con- 
clusions in  question  affirmed  the  nullity  of  the  excommunication. 
This  was  a  matter  on  which,  very  naturally,  the  Pope  would  tolerate 
no  discussion. 

It  is  very  clear,  then,  that  while  Alexander  disapproved  of  the 

^  Penedetto,  ibid.  p.  Ixxxvi. 


348  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

cimento,  he  was  by  no  means  a  victim  to  the  fear  of  which 
Burlamacchi  sjjeaks,  and  he  took  no  effective  measures  whatever 
to  hinder  the  proceedings.  But  neitlier  is  there  any  proof  that,  as 
some  writers  have  suggested,  he  secretly  aided  and  abetted  them. 
When  the  news  of  what  had  actually  happened  at  last  reached  Rome, 
the  shifty  policy  of  the  unworthy  Pontiff  led  him  at  once  to  address 
two  briefs  to  Francesco  and  to  the  brethren  of  his  convent  re- 
spectively, in  which  he  thanked  them  for  the  zeal  which  they  had 
shown  in  this  miserable  affair.^  Later  on,  when  the  tide  of  popular 
favour  had  even  more  decidedly  turned  against  Fra  Girolamo,  the 
Signory  then  in  office  proposed  and  carried  a  resolution  conferring 
on  the  Convent  of  Santa  Croce  an  annual  pension  of  60  lire,  to  be 
drawn  on  7th  April.^  But  the  very  first  time  that  the  friars 
claimed  it,  they  were  contemptuously  told  to  take  the  price  of 
the  blood  of  him  whom  they  had  betrayed.^ 

^  The  Briefs,  dated  nth  April,  are  given  in  Quetif,  ii.  462-63  (Villari,  ii.  179). 
They  certainly  do  not  prove  the  previous  existence  of  any  deep-laid  scheme. 
2  The  deliberation  on  the  subject  is  given  in  Perrens,  i.  513  (Villari,  ii.  161). 
*  "  Ecco,  prendete  il  prezzo  del  sangue  tradito"  (Burlamacchi). 


CHAPTER   XX 

THE    RIOT 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  tension  of  strong  feeling,  which 
was  the  natural  effect  of  the  abortive  ordeal,  the  evening 
and  night  of  Saturday,  7th  April,  and  the  morning  of  Palm  Sunday, 
8th  April,  passed  without  any  open  disturbance  at  Florence.  It  is 
clear,  however,  that  Fra  Girolamo  had  a  strong  presentiment  of  an 
approaching  disaster,  for  on  the  Sunday  morning,  in  a  brief  discourse 
to  the  people  assembled  at  S.  Marco,  he  once  more  expressed  his 
readiness  to  offer  his  life  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  cause  which  he  had  at 
heart.i  There  could,  in  fact,  be  no  doubt  that  the  more  unscrupulous 
of  his  enemies  had  determined  to  bring  about  his  utter  ruin,  so  far 
as  it  was  in  their  power  to  achieve  this  result ;  and  in  the  present 
conjuncture  of  affairs  nothing  was  needed  but  some  focus  of  excite- 
ment in  which  the  heat  of  evil  passions  might  be  kindled  to  a  flame. 
Such  a  focus  was  unfortunately  provided  in  the  Duomo  on  the  Sunday 
afternoon,  for  it  was  understood  that  Fra  Mariano  Ughi,  one  of  those 
who  had  signed  a  written  undertaking  to  enter  the  fire  on  behalf  of 
Domenico's  theses,  was  to  preach  there  after  Vespers.  His  sermon, 
as  may  well  be  supposed,  was  anticipated  with  intense  interest  by 
the  adherents  of  Fra  Girolamo,  and  with  a  good  deal  of  curiosity  by 
others ;  while  the  Compagnacci,  on  their  part,  were  determined  either 
to  prevent  the  delivery  of  the  discourse,  or  to  bring  it  to  a  speedy 
conclusion  by  raising  a  brawl,  similar  to  that  by  which  Savonarola 
himself  had  been  silenced  on  Ascension  Day  of  the  previous  year.2 
Pobably  the  Cathedral  chapter  would  have  acted  in  the  best  interests 

1  "  Fece  .  .  .  un  sermone,  benche  breve,  molto  divoto  e  Kigrimevole,  quasi 
preminziando  la  sua  instante  tribulazione  :  il  fine  del  quale  fu  in  eflfetto,  cbe  egh 
si  ofTeriva  in  sacrificio  a  Dio,  ed  era  parato  a  supportar  la  morte  per  le  sue 
pecorelle,  etc.  .  .  .  Tanto  fu  sempre  questo  uomo  simile  a  se  stesso,"  etc. 
(Nardi,  i.  121-22). 

2  Filipcpi,  Crofiaca(\n  X'ilhiii  and  Casanova,  Scf//a,  etc.),  P-  487  ;  Burlamacchi, 
p.  144  ;   r.irenti  (in  Ranke,  HhtorUch-Bwgraphische  Studieii),  p.  3 1 5,  etc. 

819 


350  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

of  all  concerned  had  they  given  public  and  timely  notice  that  Ughi 
would  not  be  allowed  to  preach  ;  but  they  seem  to  have  taken  a  very 
inadequate  view  of  their  responsibilities.  Treating  the  whole  affair 
with  unseemly  levity,  they  thought  to  prevent  the  delivery  of  the 
discourse  by  the  rather  childish  expedient  of  postponing  the  com- 
mencement of  Vespers.^  The  rumour  soon  began  to  spread  that 
there  would  be  no  sermon,  and  the  matter  became  the  theme  of 
heated  discussion,  the  enemies  of  the  Friar  striking  the  benches  and 
insulting  the  devout  Piagnoni  and  bidding  them  begone.^  At  last 
Antonio  Alamanni,  one  of  the  Compagnacci,  mounted  the  steps  of 
the  pulpit,  and  calling  attention  by  hammering  on  the  panels,  loudly 
proclaimed  that  Ughi  would  not  preach,  and  that  the  women  there 
assembled  had  better  go  home.^  If  we  may  believe  Parenti,  it  was 
one  of  the  Frateschi  or  Piagnoni  who,  roused  to  indignation  by  the 
disgraceful  conduct  of  those  who  hustled  himself  and  his  companions, 
first  drew  his  sword.  If  it  were  so,  there  is  nothing  to  be  surprised 
at  in  the  circumstance ;  and  it  would  have  been  only  the  first  of 
several  instances  in  which  the  followers  of  Fra  Girolamo  allowed 
themselves  on  this  occasion  to  be  provoked  by  their  enemies  to  acts 
the  consequences  of  which  only  recoiled  upon  themselves.'*  At  any 
rate,  a  scene  of  the  wildest  confusion  quickly  ensued  ;  there  was  a 
general  stampede  of  those  who  had  come  to  pray  and  to  hear  the 
sermon ;  and,  in  the  emphatic  language  of  Landucci,  "  blessed  was 
he  who  could  find  the  door." 

But  as  the  crowd  surged  forth  into  the  Piazza,  they  found  them- 
selves exposed  to  worse  insults  and  to  greater  danger  than  they  had 
encountered  within  the  walls  of  the  Cathedral.  Among  the  moral 
triumphs  achieved   by  Savonarola,  in  the  still  recent  days  of  his 

^  "La  giente  era  a  sedere  alia  predica,  un  buon  popolo  d'uomini  e  di  done, 
e  preti  soprastavano  a  cominciare  el  vespro  "  (Landucci).  Similarly  Parenti,  but 
more  explicitly :  "  E  canonici  .  .  .  sbuffavano  et  per  alcun  modo  comportare 
non  volcano  che  detto  frate  .  .  .  predicassi,  onde  differivano  il  vespro  per  ordinare 
lo  impedimento"  (Ranke,  loc.  cit.),  Burlamacchi  charges  them  with  having 
come  to  an  agreement  on  the  subject  with  the  Compagnacci. 

"^  "  Usando  parole  e  dicendo  :  '  Andatevi  con  Dio,  piagnonacci '"  (Landucci, 
Diario,  p.  170). 

'  "Antonio  Alamanni  .  .  .  salito  alto  su'  gradi,  forte  picchio  I'assito  ;  et 
voce  mand^  fuori  alle  donne,  che  se  n'andassino,  perche  non  si  predicava" 
(Parenti,  loc.  cit.). 

*  Parenti  (a  contemporary  witness  hostile  to  Savonan^la)  frankly  says  that, 
" alcuni  giovani  de  Compagnacci  trovatisi  prescnti,  velen/ieri presono  Poccasione,'^ 
etc. 


THE  RIOT  351 

popularity,  had  been  the  almost  entire  suppression  of  the  time- 
honoured  but  exceedingly  mischievous  and  sometimes  fatal  sport  of 
stone-throwing,  in  which  the  Florentine  youth  had  been  accustomed 
to  indulge.  But  now,  under  the  distinguished  patronage  of  Dofib 
Spini  and  his  crew,  they  resumed  their  old  pastime,  but  with  a 
difiference,  and  with  very  serious  consequences.  Instead  of  engaging 
in  a  free  fight  among  themselves,  after  the  approved  fashion  of  days 
gone  by,  they  reserved  their  missiles  for  the  Piagnoni,  who,  as  they 
made  their  way  towards  the  Duomo,  or  came  out  from  thence,  were 
pelted  by  the  boys,  and  assailed  by  older  ruffians  with  every  kind  of 
ribald  jest,  and  even  with  blows.^  Fra  Mariano  Ughi  himself,  who 
was  on  his  way  from  S.  Marco,  accompanied  by  many  of  the  laity, 
found  himself  obliged  to  retire  before  the  storm  ;-  and  as  others  too 
fled  from  the  Duomo  towards  S.  Marco,  the  crowd  of  youthful  stone- 
throwers  followed  them.'^  Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  stones  and 
insults  were  in  all  cases  received  with  heroic  meekness.  The  lads, 
instigated  no  doubt  by  their  elders,  had  already  made  an  attack  upon 
the  house  of  Andrea  Cambini,  a  man  who  had  on  many  occasions 
acted  as  intermediary  between  Valori  and  the  convent,  and  whose 
reputation  as  an  ardent  Piagnone  was  second  only  to  that  of  Valori 
himself.  But  the  volley  of  missiles  discharged  at  Cambini's  house 
was  returned  with  spirit  by  the  inmates,'*  and  this  first  open  inter- 
change of  hostilities  helped  to  render  possible  the  disgraceful  scenes 
which  followed.  A  little  active  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Frateschi 
was  all  that  was  needed  to  afford  an  occasion  to  the  Compagnacci  to 
stir  up  the  mob  to  something  worse  than  mere  mischief.     As  pursuers 

'  "  Andamo  (a  S.  Maria  del  Fiore)  .  .  .  e  cominciorono  a  tirare  molti  sassi 
e'  fanciugli  inverse  il  popolo"  (Deposition  of  Luca  della  Robbia,  p.  ccxl.). 
Similarly  Burlamacchi.  (The  depositions  of  all  the  witnesses  at  the  subsequent 
trial  of  Savonarola  are  given  in  extenso  by  Villari,  vol.  ii.  pp.  cxlvii.  sqq. 
With  the  exception  of  that  of  Savonarola  himself,  the  rest  are  for  the  most  part 
genuine  autographs,  and  they  afford  valuable  evidence  as  to  many  of  the  details  of 
the  tumult.) 

"^  Filipepi,  pp.  487-88.  Filipepi  was  one  of  those  who  actually  accompanied 
Ughi  on  this  occasion,  and  therefore  his  testimony  must  be  preferred  to  that  of 
Burlamacchi,  who  brings  the  preacher  into  the  Duomo. 

2  "  Li  amici  del  Frate  tutti  si  ritirorno  verso  il  monasterio  di  Sancto  Marcho 
.  .  .  et  dreto  alloro  se  aviorno  molti  fanzuli,  cridando  et  tirendo  delli  sassi" 
(Somenzi  to  Sforza,  8th  April ;  Villari,  p.  xcv.).  This  letter  relates  the  events 
of  the  night  from  hour  to  hour,  the  news  being  written  down,  paragraph  by 
paragraph,  as  it  came  in.  It  contains,  however,  as  many  blunders  as  an  average 
modern  telegram  from  the  seat  of  war. 

*  Dep.  of  Delia  Robbia,  loc,  cit. 


352  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

and  pursued  hurried  along  the  Via  del  Cocomero,  which  leads  from 
the  Duomo  to  the  Piazza  dell'  Annunziata,  an  inoffensive  citizen 
("  un  nobil  giovane  de'  Pecori," says  Burlamacchi),  whose  only  crime 
was  that  he  was  saying  his  prayers  as  he  went  along,  was  run  through 
with  a  spear,  and  died  on  the  spot ;  and  not  long  after  the  arrival  of 
the  crowd  before  S,  Marco,  another  follower  of  Fra  Girolamo,  a 
poor  tradesman,  who  ventured  to  remonstrate  with  the  rioters,  was 
likewise  brutally  murdered.^ 

Notwithstanding  the  evidence  which  these  murders  afford  of  the 
reckless  temper  of  the  mob,  it  is  just  possible  that  graver  disorders 
might  have  been  avoided,  had  not  some  few  of  the  friends  of 
Savonarola,  by  their  impetuous  rashness,  only  too  opportunely 
played  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies.  A  very  small  number 
of  citizens,  foremost  of  whom  was  Francesco  Davanzati,  had  in  the 
course  of  the  previous  fortnight  conveyed  into  the  convent  a  little 
consignment  of  arms,  offensive  and  defensive ;  and  during  the  inter- 
vening period  a  watch  had  been  set  each  night  under  fear  of  an 
attack  from  the  Compagnacci.^  No  one  can  seriously  blame  these 
measures  of  precaution,  though  it  would  probably  have  been  better 
if  Fra  Salvestro  Maruffi  and  Fra  Francesco  de'  Medici,  who  seem 


'  Burlamacchi,  p.  145. 

2  Notice  of  the  projected  attack  had  been  given  to  Fra  Silvestro  Maruffi  by 
Bernardo  da  Cante  and  Bartolommeo  Cavalcanti  a  few  weeks  previously.  Maruffi 
commissioned  Fra  Francesco  de'  Medici  to  make  some  provision.  Medici  spoke 
of  the  matter  to  Davanzati,  and  the  latter,  in  conjunction  with  Giovanni  Capponi, 
Matteo  Strozzi,  and  Lionello  Boni,  supplied  a  dozen  or  so  of  cuirasses,  helmets, 
and  shields,  eight  muskets,  a  barrel  of  powder,  and  some  bullets.  (Dep.  of 
Nicholas,  "  the  shoemaker,"  pp.  ccxxxiii.  sqq..,  and  of  Fra  Francesco  de'  Medici, 
p.  ccxxxi. ,  etc.)  A  couple  of"  bombardelle,"  or  small  cannon,  are  also  mentioned, 
but  were  almost  certainly  not  used.  There  were  a  few  arms  already  in  the 
convent,  which  used  to  be  left  there  from  day  to  day  by  Savonarola's  body-guard. 
And  on  the  day  of  the  riot  a  few  citizens  brought  their  own  weapons.  Altogether 
about  sixteen  of  the  friars,  and  perhaps  thirty  laymen,  took  an  active  part  in  the 
defence.  Fra  Domenico  declares  that  these  preparations— made  without  his 
knowledge — appeared  to  him  more  ludicrous  than  alarming,  and  he  insists  that 
most  of  those  who  bore  arms  were  of  the  humbler  classes  (genterella  minuta ; 
Dep.,  p.  cc).  Medici  says  that  it  was  not  until  the  Saturday  evening  that 
Savonarola  had  some  "general  knowledge"  of  what  had  been  done.  The 
evidence  as  to  who  took  arms,  and  what  arms  were  borne  by  each,  is  so  minute 
in  detail,  that  the  argument  from  silence  may  fairly  be  pressed  against  the  sup- 
position that  the  "bombardelle"  were  ever  brought  into  action.  They  would, 
however,  naturally  serve  as  trophies,  to  be  dragged  about  the  city  after  the  taking 
of  the  convent,  as  specimens  of  monkish  munitions  of  war  ("  Ecco  I'arme,  che  i 
frali  avevano  in  convento  !  "  Burlamacchi,  p.  154). 


THE  RIOT  353 

to  have  been  chiefly  responsible  for  them,  had  first  sought  and 
followed  the  advice  of  their  superior,  Savonarola,  it  may  safely 
be  assumed,  would  either  have  dissuaded  them  altogether — as 
Cambini  and  perhaps  Valori  himself  actually  did  dissuade  them 
— from  taking  any  such  step,  or  would  at  least  have  strictly 
cautioned  them  that  no  arms  must  be  used  in  or  about  the 
convent  except  for  the  purpose  of  necessary  self-defence.^  At 
any  rate,  the  possession  of  these  arms  now  gave  occasion  for  an 
act  of  very  serious  imprudence,  just  such  an  act  as  the  Compag- 
nacci  would  have  wished  to  provoke.  The  consentient  testimony  of 
several  witnesses  makes  it  clear  that  the  first  attack  on  the  convent 
was  made  by  a  rabble  largely  consisting  of  boys  and  youths,  who 
with  a  shower  of  stones  drove  back  the  congregation  as  they  were 
issuing  from  S.  Marco  after  Vespers.^  No  doubt  there  were  many 
in  the  crowd  who  carried  arms,  and  the  cries  of  the  attacking  party 
were  menacing  enough.  One  Paolo,  a  wax-chandler,  says  in  his 
evidence  that,  when  he  had  retreated  before  the  stones :  "  Dipoi 
vene  la  furia,  e  quali  non  vidi  mai ;  ma  udl  la  ghrida  grande,  e  che 
volevano  amazzare  tutti  quegli  che  erano  in  Sa  Marcho."^  No 
wonder  that  there  was  a  general  rush  to  the  "  squola "  (sic),  the 
room  in  which  the  arms  were  stored,  and  a  general  donning  of 
cuirasses  and  helmets,  and  a  snatching  up  of  weapons,*  in  which 
warlike  preparations  a  very  small  number  of  the  friars  (out  of  a 
community    of    250)    took    part.^      Nor,    so   far   as   we   can    see, 

1  Villari  (ii.  163)  gives  no  authority  for  the  statement  that  Valori  spoke  in  the 
sense  indicated  above.  But  Cambini,  his  most  intimate  friend,  declares  that  he 
himself,  when  spoken  to  on  the  subject,  had  advised,  "che  per  nienle  lo  facesino, 
chen'arebono  carico,  et  sarebono  cagione  di  muovere  scandalo  "  (Dep.,  p.  cclxxx). 

2  "  E  tutto  il  popolo  e'  fanciulli  corrono  co'  sassi  ;  intanto  che  molti  uomini  e 
donne  ch'  erano  in  S.  Marco  non  potevano  uscire  fuori  pe'  sassi.  E  io  mi  trovai ; 
e  se  non  fussi  che  del  chiostro  usci  e  andane  in  verso  la  Porta  di  San  Gallo, 
rimanevo  forse  morto"  (Landucci,  p.  170).  "  E  detto  il  Vespro  venne  uno  rimore 
(sic)  .  .  .  E  in  su  questo  .  .  .  giunse  gente  in  sulla  piaza ;  che  chredo  io,  alle 
bocie,  fusino  piu  charzonotti  che  uomini"  (Dep.  of  Lionello  Boni,  p.  ccxliv. ). 
Similarly  Alessandro  Pucci  (Dep.,  p.  cclx.\iv)  :  "  Quando  da  principio 
fanciulli  cominciorono  a  trarre  saxi  a  S.  Marco."  Parenti  speaks  even  of  the 
fighting  on  occasion  of  the  second  attack  (of  which  presently)  as  a  "  leggiera 
scaramuccia "  :  and  during  the  first  skirmish  Luca  della  Robbia,  who  had  gone 
"for  a  drink"  with  some  companions,  was  afterwards  able  to  return  unhurt  to 
S.  Marco  (Dep.,  p.  cc.\l).  Several  others  went  home  to  fetch  their  arms,  and 
returned  without  serious  molestation. 

3  Dep.  of  Paolo,  p.  ccxxxvi. 

*  Dep.  of  Girolamo  Gini,  pp.  ccl.,  cclii. 
'  Dep.  of  Nicholas,  the  shoemaker,  p.  ccxxxiv. 

Z 


354  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

can  they  reasonably  be  blamed  for  this.  But  as  a  mere  matter 
of  prudence  it  would  have  been  well  if  their  lay  defenders  had 
confined  their  tactics  to  securing  the  doors,  and  placing  guards 
at  each.  The  convent  walls,  as  Davanzati  did  not  fail  to  remind 
them,  were  a  better  protection  than  any  "targone,"  or  "rotella,"  or 
"  corazza "  which  they  might  chance  to  have  picked  up.^  Besides 
which  it  was  of  the  very  utmost  importance  to  do  nothing  which 
could  serve  to  provoke  the  crowd  to  further  outrages.  Against  the 
resistance  of  dead  walls  the  waves  of  the  tempest  might  after  all 
have  beaten  themselves  into  comparative  calm.  Unfortunately,  in 
the  ardour  of  their  zeal  for  the  defence  of  the  convent,  and  under 
the  excitement  produced  by  the  ghrida  grande  of  the  mob  outside, 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them,  among  whom  was  one  Francesco 
del  Pugliese,  "  panting  like  a  bull,"  must  needs  issue  forth  into  the 
Piazza  and  exchange  shots,  or  engage  in  a  hand-to-hand  combat 
with  their  assailants. ^  It  was  in  vain  that  Fra  Domenico  went 
through  the  convent  imploring  both  laymen  and  friars  to  lay  down 
their  arms ;  ^  in  vain  that  Baldo  Inghirlami  endeavoured  to  dissuade 
them  from  their  ill-judged  sortie,  which  could  only  issue  in  mischief 
to  the  convent.* 

For  about  an  hour  the  fighting  went  on  in  the  square.^     It  was  pro- 

^  "  Et  io  gli  chonfortai  a  tornare  drento,  perche  eglino  stavano  meglio  in  chesa 
che  fuora,  et  piu  sichuri  stavano  "  (Dep.  of  Davanzati,  p.  ccxlvii). 

^  Domenico  (Dep.,  p.  cci)  says  that  his  attention  was  attracted  by  hearing 
shots,  which,  as  he  implies,  were  partly  at  least  fired  by  the  defenders.  Not 
more  than  five  or  six  of  the  Frateschi,  however,  seem  to  have  used  firearms 
(Dep.  of  Nicholas,  loc.  cit.).  Alessandro  Pucci  relates  that  he  went  out  and 
threw  some  stones,  but  soon  returned.  The  notary  adds  :  "  Item  (vi  vide) 
Francesco  del  Pugliese  in  mantello  et  cappuccio,  che  dice  soffiava  come  uno 
thoro"(p.  cclxxiv).  Guicciardini  says:  "  Cominciorono  con  sassi  e  coUe  arme 
a  difenderlo  {i.e.  the  convent)  benche  non  fussi  stretto  "  (p.  171). 

^  Dep.,  p.  ccii. 

*  "  Operai  che  ritornassino  drento  a  posare  I'arme  ;  dicendo  loro  che  e'  facevano 
male,  e  davano  carico  a  S.  Marcho,  e  che  le  cose  di  Dio  non  si  difendevano 
coir  arme"  (Inghirlami,  Dep.,  p.  cclxxi).  Yet  Nicholas  declares  that  it  was 
Davanzati  and  Inghirlami  who  organised  the  defence  (comandavono  et  ordinavano 
le  faction!,  p.  ccxxxiv),  and  Villari  adopts  this  statement.  But  even  eye-witnesses 
don't  see  everything,  and  they  are  often  apt  to  fancy  that  they  see  more  than  is  to 
be  seen.  In  fact  Baldo,  like  Valori,  was  glad  to  get  away  as  soon  as  possible 
(p.  cclxxi). 

*  Somenzi,  loc.  cit.  One  can  picture  this  cynical  diplomatist  sitting  in  his 
chamber,  greedily  absorbing  all  the  gossip  that  reached  him,  and  filling  his  letter 
to  Sforza  with  the  wildest  rumours.  But  he  marks  time  satisfactorily,  and  his 
letter  helps  the  student  to  unravel  the  thread  of  the  succession  of  events  from  the 
tangled  maze  of  the  more  truthful  but  sometimes  rather  confused  depositions. 


THE  RIOT  355 

bably  of  a  somewhat  desultory  character,  yet  sufficiently  vigorous  to 
keep  up  the  excitement,  until  the  news  of  more  stirring  incidents  going 
forward  elsewhere  drew  off  a  considerable  portion  of  the  crowd  to 
another  quarter  of  the  city.  Another  cause,  however,  may  possibly 
have  had  something  to  do  with  the  comparative  quiet  which  now  for 
some  time  ensued  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  S.  Marco. 
The  Signory  seems  to  have  spent  the  afternoon  and  evening  in 
consultation  at  the  Palazzo,  and  while  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
records  of  their  proceedings  on  this  eventful  night  are  so  exceedingly 
meagre,  we  at  least  have  some  authentic  documents  which  throw 
light  on  their  action,  and  perhaps  on  their  motives.  As  soon  as  the 
riot  broke  out,  they  passed  a  resolution  calling  upon  all  unauthorised 
citizens  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  condemning  Savonarola  to 
banishment  from  the  territories  of  the  Republic,  a  sentence  with 
■which  he  was  to  comply  within  twelve  hours.^  How  far  the  orders 
of  the  Signory  were  communicated  to  the  mob  it  is  impossible  to 
say  ;  but  it  seems  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  no  attempt  was 
made  to  publish  the  resolution  which  had  just  been  passed.  And  if 
it  was  made  known,  this  might  partly  account  for  the  temporary 
withdrawal  of  the  rioters.  At  any  rate,  a  messenger  was  despatched 
to  S.  Marco,  to  communicate  to  the  defenders  of  the  convent,  and 
to  Savonarola  himself,  the  orders  of  the  Signory.  It  was  probably 
at  this  time  that  Fra  Girolamo  expressed  his  determination  of  going 
forth,  with  no  other  protection  than  his  crucifix,  saying,  in  the  words 
of  Jonas  :  "  Propter  me  orta  est  haec  tempestas— It  is  on  my  account 
that  this  storm  has  arisen  "  ;  and  it  was  only  the  united  remonstrances 
of  his  own  community  and  of  his  lay  friends  which  dissuaded  him 
from  putting  his  purpose  into  execution.^  It  was  also  probably  at 
this  time  that  Baldo  Inghirlami,  and  probably  several  others,  took 
the  opportunity  of  making  their  way  home.^     Valori  had  already 

1  The  terms  of  the  resolution  (from  the  official  record)  are  given  by  Villari, 
p.  xciv.  Somenzi  {loc.  cit. )  declares  that  the  Signory  authorised  all  who  chose 
to  take  up  arms  against  S.  Marco  !  His  informants  evidently  brought  him  the 
kind  of  news  which  would,  they  knew,  be  welcome. 

"^  Burlaniacchi,  p.  145,  whose  account  is  confirmed  by  the  depositions  of  Fra 
Salvestro  and  of  Alessandro  Pucci  (pp.  ccxxvi,  cclxxiv). 

3  Dep.,  p.  cclxxi.  He  speaks  of  having  gone  home  with  an  escort 
(con  un  mazziere  e  3  tavolaccini),  and  with  some  companions,  by  way  of  the 
garden  gate.  There  must,  therefore,  have  been  some  officials  present.  There 
was  a  second  decree  of  the  Signory  commanding  all  laymen  then  within  the 
convent  walls  to  leave  it  within  an  hour.  Nardi  speaks  as  if  this  decree  had 
followed  immediately  on  the  first,  or  as  if  both  had  been  communicated  at  the 


356  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

left  the  convent,  having  made  his  escape  by  way  of  the  garden 
wall.i 

What  may  have  been  Valori's  motive  in  thus,  as  it  might  seem, 
abandoning  his  friends,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine.  But  the  simplest 
explanation  seems  to  be  that  he  dreaded  an  attack  upon  his  own 
house,  and  that  he  went  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  it  if  possible 
against  the  violence  of  the  rioters.  Disapproving  as  he  did  the 
measures  which  had  been  taken  for  the  armed  defence  of  the  convent, 
he  may  well  have  thought  that  his  presence  there  was  more  likely  to 
injure  than  to  help  the  inmates ;  and  we  may  at  least  feel  sure  that 
his  departure  was  no  act  of  betrayal  or  of  cowardice.  The  event 
showed  that  his  fears  for  his  own  house  were  not  groundless. ^ 

Whatever  the  real  dispositions  of  a  majority  of  the  Signory  may 
have  been,  and  whether  or  no  some  of  them  were  privy  to  the  act, 
the  Compagnacci,  by  a  bold  stroke,  now  secured  for  themselves 
complete  and  effective  control  of  the  rioters  for  their  own  bad  ends. 
Delia  Vecchia,  the  captain  of  the  palace  guard,  who  had  some 
hundreds  of  men  under  his  command,  was  thought  to  be  friendly 
to  Savonarola.  Now  the  Compagnacci  had  secured  the  adherence 
of  at  least  two  of  the  Gonfalonier!  of  the  city  companies.  One  of 
them,  who  is  not  named,  the  standard-bearer  of  the  "  Vipera,"  with 
a  numerous  armed  following,  took  possession  of  the  Piazza  della 
Signoria,  guarding  all  the  approaches  (as  della  Vecchia  had  done 
the  day  before  for  a  better  purpose) ;  while  Giovanni  Manetti,  also 
a  Gonfaloniere,  who  rode  in  at  the  head  of  another  troop,  called 
della  Vecchia  to  his  side  as  if  to  speak  to  him,  forcibly  pulled  him 

same  time.  But  none  of  the  witnesses  made  any  reference  to  it  ;  and  it  seems 
clear  from  the  depositions,  that  previously  to  the  negotiations  for  the  final  surrender, 
only  one  messenger  had  arrived  from  the  Signory,  and  that  he  had  only  required 
the  defenders  to  lay  down  their  arms  (pp.  ccii,  ccxliv,  cclxxiv,  cclxxxv).  The 
third  and  fourth  of  the  "  bandi  "  published  by  Villari  (pp.  xciv.,  xcv.)  were 
issued,  we  believe,  subsequently  to  the  arrest  of  Fra  Girolamo. 

^  Nardi,  p.  123. 

^  Parenti  very  explicitly  declares  that  Savonarola  himself  advised  Valori  to 
go  and  defend  his  own  house:  "Che  ad  armare  s'andassino,  et  con  i  loro 
seguaci  ragunatisi  a  casa  del  Valori  si  difendessino,  et  la  parte  adversa  superare 
s'ingegnassino ;  altrimenti  ajutare  non  li  poteva  che  colle  orazioni"  (Ranke, 
p.  316,  and  again,  p.  317).  But  this  is  obviously  mere  hearsay,  probably  having 
no  better  foundation  than  that  Valori  proposed  to  go  home  to  look  to  the  defence 
of  his  house,  and  that  Savonarola  did  not  seek  to  detain  him.  Pitt!  also  says 
(p.  53)  that  Valori  and  Ridolfi,  "erano  confortati  d'andare  ad  armarsi,  e  col 
seguito  loro,  defenderlo,"  i.e.  to  defend  S.  Marco.  But  Pitti,  too,  is  a  hostile 
witness. 


THE  RIOT  357 

from  his  horse,  and  then  and  there  carried  him  off  to  the  Bargello, 
where  he  gave  him  into  custody.^  Then,  raising  the  cry  "Popolo  ! 
Popolo  !  "  he  called  off  his  own  followers,  together  with  the  rabble 
of  the  populace,  to  the  congenial  task  of  sacking  the  house  of 
Valori.2  This  champion  of  the  Frateschi  reached  his  home  only  in 
time  to  find  it  already  besieged  by  an  infuriated  mob ;  and  it  was 
his  cruel  fate  to  see  his  own  wife,  who  came  to  the  window  to 
remonstrate  with  the  attacking  party,  struck  dead  by  a  bolt  from  a 
cross-bow.2  Whatever  efforts  he  may  have  been  able  to  make  to 
defend  his  home  only  served  still  more  to  enrage  the  assailants,  who 
effected  an  entrance  and  proceeded  to  loot  the  house,  while  Valori 
only  saved  himself  for  the  moment  by  hiding.*  A  little  later  a 
messenger  from  the  Signory  came  to  summon  him  to  the  palace. 
He  obeyed  the  summons,  but  on  his  way  was  assassinated  by 
Vincenzo  Ridolfi  and  Simone  Tornabuoni;  an  act  of  private 
vengeance  for  the  prominent  part  which  he  had  taken  in  procuring 
the  condemnation  and  prompt  execution  of  Niccolb  Ridolfi  and 
Lorenzo  Tornabuoni,  with  the  other  Medicean  conspirators,  in  the 
previous  August.^ 

'  This  incident,  which  seems  to  have  been  entirely  overlooked  by  Villari,  rests 
on  what  seems  to  be  irrefragable  testimony.  Parenti  praises  Manetti  for  his 
"  buonissima  opera"  on  the  occasion;  and  Cerretani  tells  the  story  in  detail. 
He  says:  "In  questo  tempo  ciascuno  de'  Compagnacci  sotto  il  Gonfalioniere 
della  Vipera  giunsero  in  Piazza  e  presero  le  bocche  ;  dell'  altra  banda  giunsero 
Giov.  di  Giannozzo  Manetti  con  bella  compagnia,  e  visto  Giovanni  della  Vecchia 
armato  in  Piazza  con  la  sua  compagnia,  lo  chiamo,  e  cosl  a  cavallo  accostandosi 
lo  prese  per  il  gorzaretto,  e  dato  di  pie  al  cavallo,  lo  condusse  al  Bargello,  dove 
lo  fece  serrare"  (Ranke,  p.  316).  Villari  brings  della  Vecchia  to  S.  Marco 
later  in  the  night,  and  will  have  it  that  he  threatened  to  bombard  the  convent 
(p.  168). 

-  "  Et  innanzi  che  fussi  ore  22  (4  p.m.)  venne  in  Piazza  qualche  Gonfalone 
armati,  gridando /t?/t>/^,  ch'  erano  quasi  tutti  Compagnacci,  e  commiciorono  a  dire 
e  gridare  :  A  casa  Francesco  Valori,  a  sacco,"  etc.  (Landucci).  Similarly  Parenti 
(Ranke,  p.  317). 

^  Guicciardini,  p.  171  ;  Nardi,  p.  123  ;  Pilti,  p.  53  ;  Parenti,  /oc.  ci/.,  etc. 

*  "  Voltasi  ...  la  furia  e  la  moltiiudine  a  casa  F.  Valori,  e  combattendola 
pen  he  era  di/csadagueglidicasa"  etc.  (Guicciardini,  p.  171).  Again:  "Fu 
trovato  Francesco  in  una  soffitta";  and  Parenti  s.iys :  "Lui  nascoso  ogni  cosa 
senti"  (Ranke,  p.  317). 

"  Guicciardini  (p.  172)  gives  the  names  of  the  assassins,  adding  that  Jacopo 
Pilti  also  plunged  his  sworil,  or  dagger,  into  him,  but  after  he  was  already  dead. 
"  Cosi  coUa  moitf  della  privata  persona  di  lui  fu  vendicata  I'ingiuria  puhblica. 
.  .  .  Cosa  di  pcssimo  e  tirannico  esempio"  (Nardi,  i.  123).  Guicciardini  and 
Pitti  both  observe  that  no  one  was  ever  brought  to  account  for  lliis  murder. 


3S8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

From  Valori's  house  the  mob  proceeded,  under  the  guidance  of 
its  patrician  leaders,  to  loot  that  of  Andrea  Cambini,  and  the  houses 
of  Pagolantonio  Soderini  and  of  G.  B.  Ridolfi  narrowly  escaped  the 
same  fate.  They  were  saved,  however,  through  the  intercession  of 
influential  friends,  and  perhaps,  as  Guicciardini  declares,  through 
the  action  of  the  Signory  ;  and  the  fury  of  the  mob  wreaked  itself 
on  the  humbler  dwellings  of  certain  less  distinguished  supporters  of 
Fra  Girolamo.^ 

These  exciting  occupations  had  drawn  off,  as  has  been  said,  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  crowd  which  had  been  gathered  in  the 
Piazza  of  S.  Marco,  and  the  inmates  of  the  convent  had  a  respite 
of  perhaps  a  couple  of  hours.  But  after  this  interval  the  rioters 
returned  to  the  attack  with  a  more  determined  rage,  and  the 
gathering  darkness  favoured  the  designs  of  the  real  authors  of  these 
outrages.  It  seems  probable  that  the  defenders  of  the  convent 
once  more  played  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies  by  attempting  to 
cope  with  them  by  active  hostilities.  Moreover — a  sure  way  to 
increase  the  excitement  and  confusion — the  bells  in  the  tower  of 
the  convent  were  tolled,  as  a  summons  to  the  friends  of  S.  Marco. ^ 
Jacopo  de'  Nerli,a  prominent  leader  of  the  Compagnacci,lost  an  eye 
inthe  melee  ;  an  incident  which  would  no  doubt  be  turned  to  the  best 
account  by  his  friends,  as  an  occasion  for  still  further  inflaming  the 

Somenzi  dates  the  event  at  7  P.M.  Guicciardini  feelingly  laments  that  he  should 
have  been  thus  suddenly  cut  off  without  having  time  to  receive  the  last  rites  of 
the  Church.  Burlamacchi,  however,  says  that  he  had  that  morning  received  the 
Holy  Communion. 

^  "  Ma  vi  concorsono  molti  uomini  da  bene,  appresso  a  chi  non  era  in  odio 
Paolantonio  (Soderini)  come  Francesco  (Valori),  e  la  Signoria  vi  mando  a  riparare, 
in  forma  che  si  raffreno  quello  impeto  "  (Guicciardini,  p.  173).  Somenzi  (Joe.  cit). 
speaks  of  three  other  houses.  Burlamacchi  says  that  Pecori's  house  was  sacked. 
Nardi  (p.  124)  writes:  "E  un  altra  d'uno  artefice  divoto,"  etc.  Landucci  tells 
us  that  the  poor  man  had  been  throwing  tiles  on  the  mob  from  the  window  of 
his  house. 

^  "  Et  in  quest  hora,  che  sono  le  24  (i.e.  6  P.M.),  tucto  il  popolo  armato  h 
andato  a  S.  Marcho,  per  comandamento  della  Signoria  (!),  a  dare  la  battaglia  a 
quello  monasterio,  per  pigliare  Frate  H.,  perche  la  Signoria  lo  vuole  omnino  in  le 
manie,  o  vivo  o  morto.  Quello  che  vi  sono  dentro  fano  grande  diffesa  et  sonano 
le  campane  a  martello,"  etc.  (Somenzi,  ioc.  cii.,  p.  xcvii).  Several  of  the  authorities 
mention  the  tolling  of  the  bells.     C/.  Othello,  ii.  3  : — 

lago.-  Who's  tliat  that  rings  the  bell?     Diablo,  ho  ! 

The  town  will  rise  : 

Vou  will  be  shamed  for  ever. 
OM<//<J.— Silence  that  dreadful  bell  !  it  fright-,  the  isle 
From  her  propriety. 


THE  RIOT  359 

angry  passions  of  the  besiegers.^  Once  more,  and  again  to  no 
purpose,  Fra  Domenico  used  his  best  endeavours  to  stop  the 
fighting,  and  implored  those  who  were  ringing  the  bell  to  cease 
from  doing  so.^  It  was  now  that  a  definite  attempt  was  made  to 
force  an  entrance  into  the  church  and  convent  by  setting  fire  to  the 
doors ;  and  piles  of  inflammable  material  were  heaped  against  them 
and  set  alight.  When  this  was  done  Savonarola  saw  that  the  only 
course  to  be  taken  was  to  await  with  patience  whatever  fate  might 
be  in  store  for  himself  and  for  his  brethren  and  friends.  Betaking 
himself  to  that  special  form  of  supplication  which  had  been  his 
favourite  resource  on  all  critical  occasions,  he  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  procession  which  made  the  detour  of  the  cloisters,  chant- 
ing the  Litanies  and  other  invocations.  He  thus  led  his  brethren  and 
followers  to  the  choir  of  the  church,  where  he  commanded  every  one 
to  lay  down  his  arms.^  From  this  time  onwards  the  majority  of 
them  remained  kneeling  through  the  long  hours  in  ceaseless  prayer 
in  the  momentary  expectation  of  death  ;  and  for  the  time  at  least  no 
further  attempt  at  active  resistance  was  made.^  As  Fra  Benedetto 
has  it  in  his  Cedrus  Libani : — 

"  E'  figli  del  Profeta  eran  cantando 
Le  Litanie  avanti  al  Sacramento, 
Di  punto  in  punto  il  martirio  aspettando." 

Domenico  declares  his  conviction  that  Fra  Girolamo's  one  thought 
was  to  prepare  himself  and  his  brethren  for  death.  For  six  hours  con- 
tinuously, he  says,  they  prayed,  "  expecting  every  moment  to  be  cut 
to  pieces  "  :  and  if  any  one  ventured  to  look  round,  or  failed  to  make 
the  responses  to  the  Litanies,  there  was  always  some  one  to  admonish 

'  "  Dipoi  ritornando  la  moltitudine  a  S.  Marco,  dove  si  faceva  difesa  assai 
gagliarda,  fu,  credo  con  una  balestra,  cavato  lo  occhio  a  Jacopo  de'  Nerli,  che 
era  in  quello  tumulto  capo  contro  al  frate,"  etc.  (Guicciardini,  p.  173)-  Somenzi 
says,  however,  in  a  letter  written  some  days  later,  that  Nerli  was  wounded  "piu 
presto  forsc  da  li  suoy  (s/'c)  che  da  quelli  de  dentro,  per  essere  la  brigata  andata 
cum  poco  ordine,  et  esserii  la  piu  parte  persone  male  apte  ad  arme  "  (Somenzi  to 
Sforza,  1 2th  April  ;  Villari,  p.  cii. ).  Burlamacchi  says  it  was  one  of  the  friars, 
who,  after  the  rioters  had  broken  in,  put  out  Nerli's  eye  with  his  cross. 

2  Dep. ,  p.  ccii. 

^  Burlamacchi,  pp.  145-46.  It  appears  from  Burlamacchi's  account  that  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  was  reserved  not  in  the  church  but  in  the  sacristy.  He  says 
that,  after  the  procession  :  "  Entro  poi  in  sagrestia,  et  di  nuovo  paratosi,  prese  il 
Tabernacolo  ( ?  the  ciborium)  con  il  Sacramento,  et  posatolo  sopra  I'Altar 
niaggiore,  insieme  con  tutti  i  suoi  figli  si  pose  in  oratione,"  etc, 

*  CcJnts  Libani,  in  A.  S.  I.,  Append.  23,  p.  S3. 


36o  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

him  with  the  words,  "  Orate  fratres."  Delia  Robbia  and  Gini  in 
their  depositions  bear  witness  to  this  continued  prospect  of  death. 
To  some  youths  who  were  frightened,  Alessandro  Pucci  said  :  "  We 
shall  sup  with  God."  ^  In  all  the  career  of  Savonarola  this  is  perhaps 
the  noblest  scene,  a  worthy  theme  for  a  great  historical  painting. 

Soon,  however,  some  of  the  assailants  contrived,  by  scaling  the 
walls,  to  effect  an  entrance  into  the  cloister,  and  by  this  means 
reached  the  door  leading  from  the  sacristy  into  the  choir.  On  their 
appearance  there,  three  of  the  friars,  armed  with  no  weapons  more 
formidable  than  a  crucifix  and  candles,  rushed  to  meet  them, 
crying,  "  Viva  Cristo ! "  followed  by  a  few  of  the  laity.^  The 
invading  party,  seized  for  the  moment  with  a  sudden  panic,  turned 
and  fled,  and  a  prolonged  but  somewhat  desultory  skirmish  now 
ensued  within  the  convent  walls.  In  this  engagement  the  defenders 
gained  the  upper  hand,  and  a  number  of  the  invaders,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  the  cells,  found  themselves  prisoners.  Needless  to 
say,  they  were  dismissed  unhurt,  with  a  caution  and  a  blessing.  ^ 

But  the  attack  upon  the  principal  doors  still  went  forward,  and 
Fra  Benedetto  distinguished  himself  by  showering  bricks  and  tiles 
from  the  roof  on  the  heads  of  the  assailants,  until,  somewhat  later 
in  the  course  of  the  night,  he  was  commanded  by  Savonarola  to 
desist.     It  is  Benedetto  himself  who  relates  the  incident :  * — 

"  Ed  io  con  alcun'  altri,  I'alta  scorza 

Del  tetto  della  chiesa  gittavamo, 
Che  dell'  uscirne  a'  nemici  fu  forza. 

Lor  arme  e  scuti  a  furia  rompavamo, 
Che  lapide  paria  ciel  piovessi  : 

Cosi  lor  forze  indrieto  tenavamo." 

Towards  midnight,  the  flames  opened  a  way  into  the  church 
from  the  square  outside,  and  then  it  was  that  the  sharpest  fighting 
took  place.     The  invaders  fired  on  those  within  ;  and  on  the  other 

*  Dep.,  pp.  cciii,  ccxlii,  ccl,  cclii,  cclxxiv. 

^  "  E  dipoi  usci  fuora  del  choro  tre  frati  cho'  torchi  e  choUe  chroci  in  mano, 
gridando :  viva  christo.  ...  E  dipoi  tutti  si  fuggirono,"  etc.  (Dep.  of  della 
Robbia,  pp.  ccxli-xlii).  This  is  confirmed  by  Gini's  evidence,  and  by  Fra 
Benedetto,  Cedrus  Libani  (in  A.S.I.,  Append,  n.  23),  p.  84. 

3  It  is  abundantly  clear  from  the  evidence  given  by  Gini  and  della  Robbia 
that  the  defenders  used  their  sudden  victory  with  the  utmost  clemency.  They 
struck  their  enemies,  by  preference,  with  the  flat  of  their  swords  or  halberds,  and 
some  were  disarmed  and  taken  prisoners.  "  Sanno  che  noi  faciavamo  poi  lore 
onore,  e  non  faciavamo  loro  dispiacere"  (della  Roljbia,  Dep.,  p.  ccxlii). 

*  Cedriis  Libani,  p.  85. 


THE  RIOT  361 

side  a  certain  young  German,  by  name  Heinrich,  with  one 
companion,  took  up  their  position  by  the  lectern,  and  used  their 
muskets  freely.  Afterwards,  retreating  behind  the  altar,  they 
continued  from  that  vantage-ground  their  gallant  but  apparently  not 
very  fatal  fusillade.^ 

As  soon  as  the  door  had  been  forced,  Fra  Girolamo,  grieved 
beyond  measure  at  the  riot  and  bloodshed  wherewith  the  church 
was  being  desecrated,  and  fearing,  not  for  his  own  life,  but  lest  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  should  be  exposed  to  outrage,  took  the  ciborium 
from  the  altar,  and  bade  his  brethren  accompany  him  to  the 
"libreria  greca,"  which  lay  beyond  the  dormitory.  Once  again  a 
procession  was  formed,  and  once  again  the  Litanies  were  solemnly 
chanted  in  the  midst  of  all  the  surrounding  uproar.^  On  the  way, 
Fra  Girolamo  met  Fra  Benedetto,  intent  on  his  work  of  defending 
the  convent.  Kindly  but  firmly  he  commanded  him  to  lay  down 
his  arms,  and  from  that  moment  all  idea  of  holding  out  against  the 
invaders  appears  to  have  been  given  up.^  The  library  was  now  for 
the  time  being  used  as  a  chapel,  and  the  long  and  tedious  vigil  was 
there  resumed. 

During  these  proceedings  two  touching  incidents  occurred, 
which  have  been  recorded  by  eye-witnesses,  and  which  deserve 
mention  here.  Before  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  brethren  had  left  the 
choir,  a  young  man,  one  Ridolfo  Panciatichi,  mortally  wounded  in 
the  fracas,  was  brought  in,  and  laid  on  the  steps  of  the  altar,  where 
he  received  the  Viaticum  from  the  hands  of  Fra  Domenico,  and 
expired  with  a  favourite  text  of  his  master's  on  his  lips  :  "  Ecce  quam 
bonum  et  quam  jucundum  habitare  fratres  in  unum."  *  And  after 
the  community  had  assembled  in  the  "Greek  library,"  Girolamo 
Gini,  a  poor  tradesman  of  Florence,  who  had  been  promised  that  he 
should  be  admitted  into  the  Order,  being  now  wounded,  and  fearing 
that  death  was  at  hand,  begged  and  received  the  habit.'' 

^  Dep.  of  Nicholas,  della  Rolilna,  Gini,  and  Mei  ;  Burlamacchi,  p.  149. 
^  Nardi,  p.  124;  Burlamacchi,  p.  150;  Dep.  of  Domenico,  p.  ccii. 

S   Mi  vidde  el  santo  che  era  all'  orazione 

E  mi  riprese  con  parlare  umano. 
Disse  :  Figliolo,  ascolta  il  mio  sermone, 

Prendi  la  croce,  e  non  raimc  e'l  coltello : 
Di  far  cosi  non  fc  niia  'ntenzioni.-. 

Allor  cesso  ciascun  di  far  ripaii. — (Ctifrus  Libani,  p.  S5J 

*  Dep.  of  G.  Gini,  p.  ccli,  and  ol  B.  Mii,  p.  cclxxxiv  ;  Biirhimacclii,  p.  14S. 
^  Dep.  of  Gini,  pp.  ccii,  ccliii. 


362  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

A  second  messenger  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  arrived  from  the 
Signory,  with  peremptory  orders  that  Fra  Girolamo,  together  with 
Fra  Domenico  and  Fra  Salvestro  Maruffi  should  at  once  proceed  to 
the  palace.  Fra  Girolamo,  for  his  part,  was  only  too  willing  to  go  ; 
but  his  brethren,  suspecting  the  authenticity  of  the  mandate,  insisted 
that  the  man  should  bring  a  written  attestation  of  the  formal  vote  by 
which  this  course  had  been  determined  on.  While  Fra  Girolamo 
awaited  his  return,  he  made  a  touching  address  to  his  brethren  and 
friends,  of  which  Fra  Benedetto,  in  his  Cedrus  Libani,  gives  the 
substance. 

"  My  sons,"  he  said,  "  in  presence  of  God,  in  presence  of  the 
consecrated  Host,  and  in  the  midst  of  our  enemies,  I  reaffirm  the 
teaching  which  I  have  delivered  to  you.  What  I  have  said  I  have 
received  from  God,  and  God  in  heaven  is  my  witness  that  I  speak 
the  truth.  I  did  not  know  that  the  whole  city  would  so  soon  turn 
against  me  ;  but  God's  will  be  done.  My  last  advice  to  you  is  this  ; 
let  faith,  patience,  and  prayer  be  your  arms.  Sorrowing  and  grieving 
I  leave  you,  to  go  into  the  power  of  my  enemies.  I  do  not  know 
whether  they  will  take  my  life,  but  I  am  certain  that,  being  dead,  I 
can  help  you  in  heaven  more  than  I  was  able  to  do  in  my  lifetime 
on  earth.  Be  comforted,  embrace  the  cross,  wherein  you  will  find 
the  harbour  of  salvation."  ^ 

Midnight  being  now  passed,  Fra  Girolamo  made  his  confession 
to  Domenico,  and  received  the  holy  Communion  at  his  hands,  a 
fitting  preparation,  assuredly,  for  the  fate  which  he  foresaw. 

The  Compagnacci  in  force  now  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  four 
of  them  were  admitted  to  a  parley  in  the  convent.  They  brought, 
or  at  least  professed  to  show,  the  official  report  of  the  decree. 
Benedetto  asserts  that  Fra  Malatesta,  the  very  man  who  had 
declared  his  willingness  to  undergo  the  ordeal  on  behalf  of 
Savonarola,  played  the  part  of  a  traitor,  and  tendered  his  advice  to 
the  enemy.  However  this  may  be,  Savonarola  and  Fra  Domenico 
determined  to  obey  the  summons,  notwithstanding  the  entreaties  of 
his  friends  that  he  would  seek  safety  in  flight.  He  had  indeed,  at 
first,  shown  some  disposition  to  follow  this  advice,  but  when 
Malatesta  asked  him  whether  it  was  not  the  duty  of  the  shepherd  to 
give  his  life  for  his  sheep,  he  put  aside  all  hesitation.  Embracing 
his  brethren,  and  among  them  Malatesta  first  of  all,  he  surrendered 
himself  to  the  messengers  who  at  this  moment  returned  from  the 

*  Cedrus  Libani^  c.  ix. 


THE  RIOT  363 

Signory  bringing  the  written  order.  Domenico  surrendered  with  his 
master,  but  Salvestro  was  nowhere  to  be  found,  nor  can  he  be 
severely  blamed  if,  under  the  circumstances,  he  sought  to  escape  the 
hands  of  justice— such  justice  as  was  likely  to  be  meted  out  to  him. 
He  was  arrested  on  the  following  morning.  As  Savonarola  was  led 
away,  he  turned  to  his  brethren  and  bade  them  not  to  lose  faith. 
The  work  of  the  Lord,  he  said,  would  go  forward,  and  his  death 
would  but  hasten  it. 

As  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  faithful  companion  were  led  to  the 
palace,  they  were  loaded  with  every  kind  of  brutal  insult,  and  it  was 
with  reason  that  his  followers  likened  his  painful  journey  through 
the  streets  of  Florence  to  the  Via  dolorosa  of  our  Lord  Himself. 
Whatever  faults  or  mistakes  Fra  Girolamo  may  have  committed,  he 
was  at  any  rate  the  best  friend  whom  the  miscreants  that  now  in- 
sulted him  had  ever  had.  And  whatever  may  have  been  the  real  or 
ostensible  grounds  for  his  final  condemnation,  it  was  not  on  these 
grounds  that  he  was  now  persecuted  by  the  mob  and  by  their 
leaders,  but  principally  because  he  had  fearlessly  rebuked  vice,  and 
had  held  in  check  for  so  long  a  period  those  evil  passions  which 
were  now  let  loose  against  him  in  all  their  fury. 

Somenzi  relates,  with  a  satisfaction  which  is  altogether  in  keeping 
with  his  odious  character,  how  he  himself  saw  the  two  friars  arrive 
at  the  Palazzo,  and  there  put  in  chains. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   TRIAL 

THE  Story  of  the  trial,  the  condemnation,  and  the  execution 
of  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  and  his  two  companions,  Fra 
Domenico  Buonvicino  da  Pescia  and  Fra  Salvestro  Maruffi,  fills 
one  of  the  dark  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history.  It  is  one  which  the 
historical  student  might  well  be  glad  to  pass  over  unread ;  one  which 
the  biographer  of  Fra  Girolamo  would  naturally  prefer  to  leave  un- 
written, were  it  not  that  the  interests  of  truth  call  for  completeness  in 
regard  of  this  no  less  than  of  other  scenes  in  the  drama  of  the  Friar's 
stormy  life.  Partly,  however,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  and  partly  for 
the  sake  of  those  readers  who  may  not  care  to  enter  into  the  minutiae 
of  the  subject,  we  propose,  first  of  all,  to  set  forth  in  general  terms 
our  own  conclusions  and  reflections  on  this  historic  trial,  and  then 
briefly  to  review  the  course  of  events  during  the  six  weeks  over  which 
the  proceedings  extended,  reserving  the  details  of  the  evidence,  and 
a  fuller  summing-up  of  the  case,  for  subsequent  chapters. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  a  Protestant,  of  the  good  old  school 
which  regards  the  Inquisition  and  all  its  works  as  the  invention  of 
the  Evil  One,  should  regard  the  whole  process  which  ended  in  the 
condemnation  and  execution  of  Savonarola  as  a  piece  of  unmitigated 
wickedness.  But  a  Catholic,  who  has  at  heart  the  honour  of  the 
Church  even  in  the  dark  days  of  Alexander  VI.,  and  in  particular 
the  honour  of  the  illustrious  Order  of  which  Savonarola  was  so 
distinguished  a  member,  may  well  hesitate  before  subscribing  to 
such  a  view.  He  may  well  hesitate  before  venturing  to  pronounce  that 
Gioacchino  Torriano,  the  Master  General  of  the  Friars  Preachers,  and 
Fra  Francesco  Salviati,  the  Prior  of  the  reformed  convent  of  S.  Marco, 
and  Fra  Giovanni  Sinibaldi,  the  Master  of  Novices,  and  Fra  Cosimo 
Tornabuoni,  and  Fra  Malatesta  Sacramoro,  and  Fra  Giorgiantonio 

S64 


THE  TRIAL  365 

Vespucci,  and  Fra  Pietropaolo  da  Urbino,  religious  of  the  same 
convent  (to  say  nothing  of  the  other  ecclesiastics  concerned),  were, 
in  their  several  degrees  all  accessory  to  the  guilt  of  murder.^  In  the 
interests  of  what  may  perhaps  be  called  rational  historical  psychology 
it  would  seem  that  some  explanation  must  be  discoverable  which, 
while  saving  Fra  Girolamo  from  the  imputation  of  anything  worse 
than  a  mistake,  or  series  of  mistakes  (probably  not  altogether  in- 
culpable), may  yet  exonerate  his  judges,  or  at  least  some  of  them, 
from  the  far  graver  accusations  which  in  their  zeal  for  the  vindication 
of  Savonarola  some  modern  writers  have  been  only  too  ready  to  lay 
to  their  charge. 

Let  us  begin  by  laying  down,  as  the  basis  of  what  we  have  to 
say,  three  propositions  which  will  probably  be  accepted  on  all 
hands. 

No  one  supposes  that  Savonarola  was  guilty,  in  conscience,  of  any 
crime  which  by  reason  of  its  author's  moral  culpability  deserved  the 
punishment  of  death. 

No  one  nowadays  would  wish  to  uphold  the  objective  reasonable- 
ness of  the  obsolete  and  barbaric  system  of  extracting  evidence  by 
means  of  torture. 

No  one  doubts  that  many  of  Savonarola's  enemies  were  actuated 
by  the  basest  of  motives,  or  that  many  illegalities  were  committed  in 
the  course  of  the  trial  (especially  at  its  outset),  or  that  the  report  of 
Fra  Girolamo's  examination,  as  drawn  up  by  the  notary,  Ser  Ceccone, 
had  been  falsified  by  omissions,  interpolations,  and  alterations. 

And  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  his  own  time,  and  subse- 
quently, there  were  good  men  who,  judging  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence  which  were  then 
current,  believed  that  Savonarola  was  justly  condemned.  Nor  can 
this  judgment,  as  it  would  seem,  be  set  down  simply  to  ignorance  of 
the  facts  of  the  case.  For  the  main  facts  were  as  well  known  then  as 
now  ;  and  the  manipulation  by  Ser  Ceccone  of  the  evidence  given  at 
the  trial  does  not,  after  all,  affect  such  knowledge  as  men  possessed 
independently  of  the  documents  pertaining  to  the  process.  What, 
then,  is  the  explanation? 

In  the  first  place,  we  would  recall  to  the  reader's  mind  that  more 

'  Torriano  was  one  of  the  papal  commissaries  deputed  to  try  Fra  Girolamo. 
The  other  Dominican  Fathers  and  Brothers  whom  we  have  named  countersigned 
the  confession  of  Savonarola  (Villari,  ii.  Doc.  xxvi.).  If  it  be  alleged  that  their 
signatures  were  obtained  by  the  juggling  substitution  of  one  document  for  another, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  they  had  plenty  of  time  in  which  to  raise  a  protest. 


366  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

than  once,  in  his  sermons,  Fra  Girolamo  had  urged  the  magistracy 
of  Florence  to  put  into  execution  in  all  its  severity  the  somewhat 
draconian  code  of  criminal  justice  which  was  still  theoretically  in 
force,  though  in  practice  it  had  begun  to  undergo  some  mitigation 
under  the  humanising  influence  of  the  Renaissance.  That  blasphemy 
should  be  punished  by  the  piercing  of  the  tongue  with  a  red-hot  iron, 
that  unnatural  vice  should  be  visited  with  the  penalty  of  death  by 
burning,  that  for  such  or  such  an  offence  "  a  few  turns  of  the  rope  " 
would  be  a  fitting  retribution ;  these  were  opinions  which  Fra  Giro- 
lamo had  not  hesitated  to  express  in  the  chief  pulpits  of  Florence, 
and  to  which  he  had  given  the  sanction  of  his  great  authority.  In 
judging,  then,  of  the  actions  of  those  concerned  in  his  trial,  while  it 
is  right  to  wish  that  a  milder  system  of  dealing  with  accused  persons 
had  then  prevailed,  it  is  also  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 
severer  methods  of  mediaeval  justice  had  in  many  respects  at  least 
his  own  full  approval. 

But  it  will  be  indignantly  replied  that  his  words  concerned 
criminals,  that  he  was  no  criminal,  and  that  there  is  no  parity 
between  the  punishment,  however  severe,  of  the  guilty  and  the 
doing  to  death  of  an  innocent  man,  and  more  especially  of  one  who 
had  been,  in  so  unique  a  degree,  a  benefactor  to  his  fellow-citizens. 
It  is,  then,  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  was  not  merely 
blasphemers  and  libertines  upon  whom  Fra  Girolamo  had  invoked 
the  rigours  of  the  criminal  law.  We  have  already  given  a  specimen 
in  Chapter  IX.  of  the  terms  in  which,  with  all  the  vigour  of  his 
eloquence,  he  had  urged  the  Signory  to  show  no  mercy  to  those  who 
should  become  involved  in  plots  for  the  restoration  of  Piero  de' 
Medici.  And  how  faithfully,  and  with  what  panic  haste,  this  advice 
had  been  carried  out  —  under  the  predominating  influence  of  his 
friend  Valori — in  the  case  of  Bernardo  del  Nero,  Lorenzo  Torna- 
buoni,  and  the  rest,  the  reader  is  aware.  Now  the  restoration  of 
Piero  de'  Medici  to  Florence  would  probably  have  been  a  grievous 
disaster.  Whether  a  second  invasion  of  Italy  by  Charles  VIII., 
which  Savonarola  had  done  his  best  to  invite,  would  have  been  a 
lesser  evil,  is  a  point  which  is  open  to  dispute.  But  this  at  least 
may  be  said,  that  an  intrigue  for  either  purpose  was  equally  un- 
constitutional. Moreover,  it  may  fairly  be  asked  whether  the 
mischief  likely  to  result  from  the  recall  of  Piero  would  have 
been  comparable  to  the  evils  of  a  schism  in  the  Church ;  and 
yet  Savonarola  had  undoubtedly  plotted  to  bring  about  a  state  of 


THE  TRIAL  367 

things  which  could  hardly  have  issued  otherwise  than  in  a  schism.^  It 
was  distinctly  a  part  of  his  scheme  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church 
that  a  Council  should  be  called,  whose  first  business,  if  he  had  his 
way,  would  be  to  depose  Alexander  VI.,  or  rather  to  declare  him 
to  be  no  true  Pope.  Of  the  grounds  on  which  P>a  Girolamo 
maintained  (though  he  had  not  as  yet  openly  said  so  in  public)  that 
Alexander's  tenure  of  the  Apostolic  See  was  radically  invalid,  we 
shall  speak  more  at  large  in  the  concluding  chapter  of  this  work. 
Meanwhile  we  would  point  out  that  while,  on  the  one  hand, 
Savonarola  might  deem  himself  bound  in  conscience  to  use  his 
utmost  endeavours  to  secure  the  deposition  of  Borgia,  on  the  other 
hand,  those  who  believed  him  to  be  rightful  Pope  were  bound  to 
defend  him,  and  to  defend  the  Church  from  what  could  not  but 
appear  to  them  a  very  grave  danger.^  And,  indeed,  that  Savonarola's 
attempt  never  got  beyond  the  utterance  of  mysterious  threats  and  the 
drafting  of  a  few  letters  is  a  thing  for  which  we,  living  four  centuries 
later,have  abundant  reason  to  be  thankful  to  an  over-ruling  Providence.^ 
But  the  attempt  was  made,  and  made  in  a  very  determined  if  in- 
effectual manner ;  and  if  it  be  said  that  the  motives  of  him  who  made 
the  attempt  were  high  and  noble,  it  can  only  be  answered  that  in 
matters  which  affect  the  substantial  welfare  of  the  body-politic,  whether 
civil  or  ecclesiastical,  the  law  cannot  take  account  of  motives,  unless 
it  be  by  way  of  the  mitigation  of  the  sentence  of  condemnation  which 
in  such  a  case  must  needs  be  pronounced. 

It  is  very  easy  and  very  obvious  to  say,  as  Agnolo  Nicolini  is  said 
to  have  urged  at  the  time,  that  all  the  needful  ends  of  justice  could 

^  This  is  the  deliberate  opinion  of  Pastor,  who  in  such  a  matter,  will  presum- 
ably be  esteemed  a  competent  judge  {History,  vi.  51). 

-  "The  greatest  danger  seemed  to  lie  in  Savonarola's  friendship  (?)  with  the 
French  King,  Charles  VIII.,  who  had  already,  on  7th  January  1497,  obtained 
from  the  Sorbonne  a  pronouncement  in  favour  of  his  plans  for  calling  a  Council. 
Alexander  had  got  to  know  of  these  intrigues.  .  .  .  He  now  thought  that  he 
had  good  reason  to  fear  that  Savonarola's  mysterious  threats,  such  as  '  Some  day 
I  will  turn  the  key,'  or  'I  will  cry,  Lazarus,  come  forth,'  were  more  than  mere 
empty  words  "  (Pastor,  vi.  36).  "  Even  a  Pope  has  some  rights  of  self-defence, 
and  had  Alexander  overlooked  the  contumacy  of  the  Friar,  the  continuance  of 
the  Papacy  [or  rather  of  his  tenure  of  the  Papacy]  would  have  been  impossible" 
(Armstrong  in  English  Historical  Review,  iv.  455,  aptid  Pastor,  loc.  cit.), 

*  Complete  success — that  is  to  say,  success  without  a  concomitant  schism—  might 
indeed  have  been  a  blessing.  But  this,  we  believe,  was  practically  out  of  the 
question.  Complete  failure  was  belter  than  a  half-measure  of  success  attended 
by  the  evils  of  a  schism, 


368  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

have  been  secured  by  the  perpetual  imprisonment  of  the  Friar.  To 
this,  however,  it  was  answered  that,  in  view  of  the  frequent  changes  of 
government  at  Florence,  any  one  of  which  changes  might  have 
resulted  in  his  liberation,  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  was  altogether 
inadequate  to  the  necessities  of  the  case ;  and  that  the  motives  which 
on  merely  personal  grounds  would  have  suggested  a  mitigation  of  the 
extreme  penalty  which  he  had  legally  incurred,  must  yield  to  the 
supreme  consideration  of  the  public  welfare.^  This,  and  not  the 
desire  to  gloat  over  his  death,  was,  we  believe,  the  real  reason  why 
Alexander  so  persistently  urged  that  Savonarola  should  be  sent  for 
trial  to  Rome. 

It  has  been  said  that  if  Fra  Girolamo  had  succeeded ;  if  the 
wished-for  Council  had  been  called,  and  had  issued  in  the  deposition 
or  abdication  of  Alexander,  the  author  of  this  ecclesiastical  revolu- 
tion would  have  been  hailed  as  a  saviour  of  society,  and,  in  a  sense, 
of  the  Church  itself.  That  he  would  have  been  so  regarded  by 
many  is  likely  enough.  But,  after  all,  such  a  hypothesis  is  hardly 
sufficient  for  the  complete  vindication  of  Fra  Girolamo.  The  objec- 
tive morality  of  an  act  must  be  determined  by  other  considerations 
than  that  of  its  actual  or  hypothetically  possible  success  or  failure. 
Nor,  in  considering  the  justice  or  injustice  of  the  sentence  passed 
upon  him,  is  it  altogether  to  the  purpose  to  quote  the  hackneyed 
lines : — 

Treason  doth  never  prosper,  what's  the  reason  ? 
"Why,  if  it  prosper,  none  dare  call  it  treason. 

For  it  does  not  follow  that,  because  the  epigram  embodies  a 
truth,  therefore  unsuccessful  treason  must  not  be  punished. 

Once  more,  we  are  very  far  indeed  from  saying  that  the 
execution  of  Fra  Girolamo  was  a  desirable  thing  in  itself,  or  that  he 
was  morally  guilty  of  a  grave  crime.  Still  less  do  we  wish  to 
condone  the  actions  of  some  of  those  who  were  most  actively 
concerned  in  bringing  about  his  death.  But  we  do  say  that,  on 
Savonarola's  own  principles,  which  we  hold  to  have  been  unduly 
severe,  the  Signory  and  the  papal  commissaries  would  have  been 
false  to  their  duty  if  they  had  not  applied  to  him  that  strict 
measure  of  retributive  justice  which  he  had  himself  repeatedly,  and 
with  the  utmost  insistence,  declared  to  be  the  due  of  those  who 
should  plot  against  the  common  weal. 

^  Burlamacchi,  p.  i6o;  Villari,  ii.  234. 


THE  TRIAL  369 

As  to  the  main  facts  there  was,  we  repeat,  no  room  for  doubt. 
Fra  Girolamo  had  not  merely  arrived  in  his  own  mind  at  the 
conclusion  that  Alexander  was  no  true  Pope ;  his  heart  was  set 
upon  seeing  that  conviction  realised  in  outward  act ;  he  had 
publicly  threatened  to  "  turn  the  key  "  which  was  to  open  the  flood- 
gates of  revolt — not,  indeed,  against  the  Church  as  such,  but  against 
the  actual  visible  head  of  the  Church,  the  reigning  Pontiff;  and  he 
had  taken  the  first  steps  towards  putting  these  threats  into  execution. 
The  scandalous  life  of  Alexander  only  made  the  threats  and  the 
attempt — such  as  it  was — more  dangerous.  Technically,  at  least, 
Fra  Girolamo  was  more  guilty  than  Bernardo  del  Nero,  who  had 
only  failed  to  reveal  a  plot  hatched  by  others,  of  which  to  his  own 
great  displeasure  he  had  become  cognisant.  Yet  Savonarola  had 
not  moved  a  finger  to  save  Bernardo  the  torture  of  "  the  rope,"  or 
from  a  cruel  death,  or  even  to  secure  for  him  and  his  companions 
the  right  or  privilege  of  an  appeal  to  the  Consiglio  Grande.  A  like 
death  for  a  crime  analogous  in  the  eye  of  the  law  to  that  of 
Bernardo  he  was  now  to  endure. 

What  gives  to  Savonarola's  end  that  element  of  heroism  which  is 
lacking  in  the  death  of  hundreds  of  other  victims  of  prosecutions  for 
treason,  is  the  grandeur  of  his  ultimate  purpose,  the  willingness  of 
the  sacrifice  which — in  intention  at  least — he  freely  offered  for  its 
fulfilment,  the  firmness  of  his  unshaken  confidence  in  God  alone,  and 
lastly,  the  record  of  a  blameless  life,  spent  in  the  self-denying  service 
of  his  Creator  and  Redeemer  and  of  his  fellow-men,  which  lay  behind. 

Ser  Francesco  di  Ser  Barone,  more  commonly  known  as  Ser 
Ceccone,  the  shameless  falsifier  of  the  deposition  or  confession  of 
Fra  Girolamo,  has  received  at  the  hands  of  posterity  his  due  meed 
of  scorn  and  loathing.  But,  apart  from  the  moral  turpitude  of  his 
act,  he  has  done  a  supreme  disservice  to  history  by  confusing  the 
issues  by  which — so  far  as  judgment  is  allowable  and  desirable — 
Savonarola  must  be  judged.  Crimes  like  that  of  Ser  Ceccone  are,  we 
would  fain  believe,  somewhat  exceptional.  And  at  any  rate  before 
we  include  any  considerable  number  of  his  fellow-citizens,  or  of 
other  persons  engaged  in  the  trial,  in  the  same  condemnation  which 
must  needs  be  passed  upon  himself,  it  would  be  needful  that  we 
should  be  quite  sure  how  far  they  were  cognisant  of  his  falsification 
of  the  evidence ;  and  how  far  they  condemned  Fra  Girolamo  on  the 
score  of  what  he  had  never  really  confessed,  or  how  far  on  the 
ground  of  actions  which  he  unquestionably  admitted,  and  which 

2A 


370  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

were  in  fact  notorious  antecedently  to  the  employment  of  rope  and 
pulley,  or  of  the  mendacious  notary. 

The  actual  course  of  events  in  connection  with  the  trial  was  as 
follows.  The  arrest  of  Fra  Girolamo  took  place,  as  has  been  said, 
in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  of  9th  April  1498,  which  was  the 
Monday  in  Holy  Week.^  Fra  Domenico  was  taken  together  with 
his  superior,  and  Fra  Salvestro,  who  had  succeeded  in  concealing 
himself  for  a  while,  was  discovered  and  hurried  off  to  prison  a  few 
hours  later.  Nineteen  others  were  likewise  placed  under  arrest, 
either  on  the  same  day,  or  in  the  course  of  the  next  fortnight ;  and 
all  were  examined,  with  a  view  to  establishing  either  their  own 
guilt,  or  that  of  the  three  chief  prisoners.^  Among  these  nine- 
teen were  three  or  four  of  the  community  of  S.  Marco ;  the  re- 
mainder were  laymen  of  various  ranks  and  conditions,  from  persons 
of  some  distinction,  like  Domenico  Mazzinghi,  Baldo  Inghirlami, 
and  Andrea  Cambini,  down  to  "Nicholas,  the  shoemaker,"  "Paul, 
the  wax-chandler,"  and  "Thomas,  the  beadle." ^ 

A  debate  was  forthwith  held  in  the  Consiglio  de'  Richiesti  as  to 
whether  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  two  companions  should  be  there  and 
then  tried  at  Florence,  or  whether  they  should  be  sent  to  Rome  in 
case  the  Pope  should  demand  this.  The  question  was  also  put  as 
to  what  was  to  be  done  with  reference  to  the  existing  Boards  of  the 
Ten  and  the  Eight,  whose  members,  it  was  feared,  might  use  their 
influence  in  favour  of  the  prisoners.  The  conclusion  was  that  a 
commission  should  be  appointed  to  hold  a  secret  examination  of 
the  three  friars,  with  full  power  to  use  such  means  as  they  might 
deem  expedient  ("  quolibet  remedio  opportuno,"  an  euphemism  for 
"  torture  ") ;  and,  moreover,  that  a  fresh  election  of  the  Ten  and  the 
Eight  should  be  immediately  held.'*     The  commission  was  nominated 

^  We  omit  here  a  number  of  letters  in  which  the  Signory  communicated  their 
version  of  the  events  of  8th  April  to  various  prominent  personages,  or  were 
congratulated  on  the  turn  which  affairs  had  taken,  and  on  what  their  distinguished 
correspondents  were  pleased  to  call  their  prompt  and  energetic  action.  It  is 
impossible,  without  expanding  these  concluding  chapters  to  an  unwieldy  length, 
to  summarise  the  whole  body  of  contemporary  correspondence  bearing  on  the 
fortunes  of  Fra  Girolamo.  And  it  is  the  less  necessary  that  we  should  do  so, 
because  for  this  portion  of  the  history  more  authentic  documents  are  available 
than  the  despatches  of  ambassadors  and  other  persons,  not  always  well  informed. 

^  Landucci  mentions  the  arrest  of  Domenico  Mazzinghi  as  having  taken  place 
on  23rd  April  {Diario,  p.  174). 

*  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  ccxxxii  sqq.  *  Lupi,  pp.  65  sqq. 


THE  TRIAL  371 

on  the  following  day,  and  it  included  among  its  members  several  of 
Fra  Girolamo's  most  pronounced  enemies,  viz.  Piero  degli  Alberti, 
Giuliano  (not  to  be  confounded  with  Domenico)  Mazzinghi,  and 
Doffo  Spini  himself.  Of  the  remaining  fourteen  members,  one, 
Bartolo  Zati,  declined  to  serve  on  the  commission,  declaring, 
according  to  Burlamacchi,  that  "  he  would  have  no  part  in  this 
murder."  1 

But,  although  the  commission  was  not  appointed  until  the  nth, 
and  the  papal  letter  authorising  the  proceedings  did  not  arrive  till 
two  days  later,  yet,  in  the  "Processo"  drawn  up  by  authority  of  the 
Signory,  the  examination  is  said  to  have  commenced  on  the  9th,  and 
to  have  been  conducted  under  the  direction  of  the  commission,  and 
in  presence  of  Messer  Tommaso  Arnoldi,  Canon  of  Florence,  "per 
ordine  et  commissione  della  Sanctiti  del  Papa."-  It  was,  perhaps, 
of  little  consequence  to  Savonarola  which  of  his  many  enemies 
engaged  in  the  actual  task  of  examination ;  but  the  deliberate  mis- 
representation by  which  it  was  made  to  appear  that  all  had  been 
done  in  due  order,  and  with  competent  authority,  tells  its  own  tale. 
The  method  of  examination  by  torture  was  freely  employed ;  and 
whereas,  according  to  the  official  report,  Fra  Girolamo  underwent 
three  and  a  half  "  turns  "  (tratti)  of  the  rope  on  the  first  day  of  his 
examination,  Vivoli  assures  us  that  this  number  was  greatly  ex- 
ceeded on  subsequent  occasions,  and  that  on  one  day  he  suffered 
as  many  as  fourteen  "  turns."  ^  The  eager  haste  of  the  Signory  to 
bring  the  matter  to  a  conclusion  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  fact 
that  the  examination  was  actively  continued  on  the  four  last  days 
of  Holy  Week,  and  on  Easter  Sunday,  Monday,  and  Tuesday.  Of 
the  evidence  elicited  in  the  course  of  this  and  other  interroga- 
tories we  shall  speak  hereafter.  Meanwhile,  on  Wednesday,  13th 
April,  two  papal  Briefs  were  received,  one  of  which  we  here 
summarise. 

^  Burlamacchi,  p.  154.  The  words  are  attributed  by  Burlamacchi  to  Francesco 
degli  Albizzi,  but  the  error  is  corrected  by  the  official  documents  published  by 
Villari  (vol.  ii.,  Append,  pp.  cxlvi,  cxlviii).  Zati  is  named  in  the  list  of  com- 
missioners as  at  first  appointed,  but  it  does  not  appear  in  that  of  those  who 
actually  took  part  in  the  examination.  Francesco  degli  Albizzi  is  mentioned 
in  both.  It  is  right  to  add  that  on  23rd  May,  when  sentence  was  passed  by 
the  Eight,  one  of  their  number,  Francesco  Cini,  absented  himself  from  the 
proceedings. 

■■'  Villari,  ibid.,  p.  cxlviii.      Cf.  p.  cxv. 

'  Ibid.^  p.  cxvi. 


372  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

12///  April  J  Alexander  VI.  to  the  Signory.' — It  is  with  great  satis- 
faction (summa  cum  voluptate)  that  we  have  learned  from  your  am- 
bassador with  what  opportune  diligence  you  have  taken  measures  to 
repress  the  mad  folly  of  that  son  of  iniquity,  Fra  Hieronymo  Savonarola, 
who  had  not  only  deluded  the  people  with  his  vain  and  pretentious 
promises  (vanis  ampulosisque  pollicitationibus),  but  had  subsequently 
resisted  your  commands  and  ours  by  force  of  arms  (armatus,  cum  suis 
complicibus).  At  last,  however,  he  is  under  confinement  ;  wherefore  we 
give  thanks  to  our  loving  Saviour,  who,  whereas  He  is  the  light  which 
enlighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,  would  not  suffer  your 
most  religious  city  to  be  any  longer  plunged  in  darkness,  and  would 
make  known  to  all  the  world  yoMr  faith  and  devotion  to  the  Holy  Roman 
Church.  Wherefore  we  congratulate  you,  and  express  to  you  our  satis- 
faction with  what  has  been  done,  and  our  joy  that  your  city,  freed  from 
the  dissensions  which  have  rent  it,  now  enjoys  the  prospect  of  peace  and 
union.  And  in  accordance  with  your  petition  we  hereby  authorise  you 
to  examine  ("etiam  per  torturam")  the  Friars  Hieronymo,  Domenico, 
and  Silvestro,  and  all  or  any  of  their  accomplices  of  whatsoever  condition 
and  dignity,  provided  that  in  the  examination  you  associate  with  your- 
selves some  ecclesiastical  persons  at  your  own  choice. 

The  Pope  then  goes  on  to  absolve  all  and  sundry  from  whatso- 
ever ecclesiastical  censures  they  may  have  incurred  in  connection 
with  the  attack  upon  S.  Marco,  or  by  continuing  to  attend  the 
sermons  of  Fra  Girolamo  since  his  excommunication.  Moreover, 
he  grants  a  plenary  indulgence,  on  the  usual  conditions,  to  be 
gained  on  the  following  Low  Sunday.  He  concludes  by  demanding 
that,  when  Savonarola  and  his  associates  have  been  examined, 
they  shall  forthwith  be  sent  to  Rome,  for  which  purpose  he  is  about 
to  send  his  own  representatives,  who  shall  receive  them  from  the 
hands  of  the  Signory.^ 

The  Brief  was  unquestionably  well  calculated  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  Signory  in  its  proceedings  against  Fra  Girolamo. 
There  were,  however,  two  particulars  in  which  it  did  not  give  entire 
satisfaction  to  that  august  body.  In  the  first  place,  whereas  the 
Pope  gave  full  authority  for  the  examination  of  the  Friar  and  his 
companions,  his  letter  embodied  no  retrospective  condonation  of  past 
irregularities  in  this  particular  ;  nor  did  it  contain  any  clause  which 
could  be  construed  as  relieving  from  ecclesiastical  censures  those  who 
might  have  incurred  them  by  putting  Fra  Girolamo  to  the  torture 

^  Gherardi,  p.  231.  The  other  Brief,  which  is  not  known  to  have  been 
preserved,  was  probably  the  "bolla  della  indulgentia,"  to  which  reference  is  made 
in  one  of  the  debates  to  be  presently  recorded. 

"  Similar  orders  were  sent  to  the  Bishop-auxiliary,  Pagagnotti  (Perrens,  i.  5 12). 


THE  TRIAL  373 

before  the  arrival  of  the  authorisation.  And  secondly,  the  demand 
that  the  three  prinri[)al  delincjuents  should  be  sent  to  Rome  after 
their  examination  by  the  Signory,  was  one  which  wounded  the  pride 
of  the  Florentines  to  a  degree  which,  at  this  distance  of  time,  may 
seem  surprising. 

A  Pratica  was  immediately  held  to  discuss  the  situation,  and  the 
principal  question  proposed  for  debate  was,  whether  Fra  Girolamo 
and  his  two  companions  should  be  sent  to  Rome,  in  accordance 
with  the  terms  of  the  papal  Briefs.^  "  Let  us  first  examine  them," 
said  Simone  Bonciani,  "and  in  the  meanwhile  we  shall  have  time 
to  consider  whether  it  will  be  well  to  send  them  or  not."  And  with 
certain  variations  most  of  the  speakers  followed  suit.  Giovanni 
Arrighi  is  of  opinion  that  the  discussion  should  be  adjourned  till 
after  "  these  holy  days  (questi  di  santi),"  though  no  one  seems  to 
have  thought  that  the  sacredness  of  the  season  afforded  a  sufficient 
ground  for  postponing  the  torture  of  Fra  Girolamo.  "  Let  us  tell  the 
Pope,"  said  Ridolfo  RidoHi,  "  that  we  have  not  yet  examined  the 
Friars,  but  let  us  give  him  fair  words,  and  in  the  meanwhile  urge 
him  to  grant  us  the  tithe."  This  has  reference  to  a  request  which 
the  Signory  had  already  made,  that  the  Pope  would  allow  them  to 
levy  a  tithe  on  all  ecclesiastical  property  in  Florence ;  and  it  is  not 
a  little  remarkable  how  prominent  a  place  is  occupied  by  this 
question  of  the  tithe  in  a  discussion  which  was  professedly  limited 
to  quite  another  matter.  "  As  regards  the  sending  of  the  Friars," 
said  Guidantonio  Vespucci,  "  let  us  make  some  excuse ;  mean- 
while let  us  make  every  effort  (fare  forza)  to  secure  the  tithe." 
Alamanno  Rinuccini  thinks  that  it  will  be  well  to  hold  out  hopes 
that  the  Pope  shall  have  the  Friars,  or  even  to  offer  them  to  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  Piero  Soderini  (nephew  of  Pagolantonio),  is 
disposed  to  stand  out  for  the  completion  of  the  trial  on  the  spot. 
"  Let  the  Pope,"  he  suggests,  "  send  some  one  here  to  examine  the 
Friars."  But  on  the  whole,  the  tenor  of  the  meeting  was  clearly  in 
favour  of  the  temporising  policy  advocated  by  the  first-named 
speaker. 

Not  a  word  appears  to  have  been  said  during  this  debate  on  the 
subject  of  the  absolution  for  censures  possibly  or  actually  incurred. 
There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt  that  a  letter  on  the  subject  was 
addressed  to  the  Po[)e,  and  that  the  matter  was  regarded  as 
pressing,  in  view  of  the  obligation  of  fulfilling  the  paschal  precept. 

*  Lupi,  pp.  67  sijij. 


374  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

It  is  evident  that  their  magnificent  lordships  were  much  concerned 
on  this  point ;  though,  indeed,  one  can  hardly  fail  to  be  reminded  of 
those  Jewish  priests  who,  their  hands  red  with  the  guilt  of  innocent 
blood,  yet  feared  to  enter  Pilate's  house  lest  they  should  be 
contaminated,  and  should  be  thereby  disqualified  for  participation 
in  the  Passover.  On  i8th  April  they  write  to  Bonsi  urging  him  to 
induce  the  Pope  to  expedite  matters. 

\%th  April  J  The  Signory  to  Bonsi. ^ — The  ambassador  is  instructed  to 
thank  the  Pope  for  his  Briefs,  and  in  particular  for  the  "holla  della 
indulgentia "  which  he  has  sent.  But  "  perch5  fu  necessario  a  qualche 
buono  rispecto  examinare  Fra  Girolamo  avanti  che  venissi  la  licentia, 
qualcuno  e  incorso  in  censura  per  averlo  tormentato  ;  n^  puo  essere 
absolute,  per  non  essere  nel  breve  clausola  alcuna  che  parli  de  praeterito^ 
quanto  alia  tortura,  pero  vogliamo  iterum  nostro  nomine  supplichiate  al 
Papa  per  un  altro  breve,  nel  quale  si  contenga  potere  anchora  essere 
absoluto  de  praeterito"  etc. 

These  fresh  supplications  were,  however,  unnecessary,  for  on  the 
previous  day,  17th  April,  the  Pope  had  already  written  to  the  Signory 
that,  having  regard  to  their  good  intentions,  and  to  the  gravity  of  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  had  acted,  he  granted  permission — 

"  Ut  confessorem  idoneum  secularem  vel  regularem  eligere  possitis,  qui 
vos  et  eos  (alios)  ab  excessibus  hujusmodi  ac  excommunicatione  aliisque 
sententiis  censuris  et  poenis  ecclesiasticis  .  .  .  absolvere  et  penitentiam 
salutarem  iniungere  possit,"  etc.^ 

In  the  meanwhile  the  examination  of  the  prisoners  had  been 
actively  carried  on.  That  of  Fra  Girolamo  was  held  daily,  as  has 
been  said,  from  the  9th  to  the  17th  April,  i.e.  from  Monday  in  Holy 
Week  till  Easter  Tuesday,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Tuesday,  the 
loth.^  Notwithstanding  all  their  efforts,  however,  the  examining  com- 
missioners had  not  succeeded  in  eliciting  anything  of  importance 
beyond  what  was  already  known  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  assurance 
alleged  to  have  been  given  by  Ser  Ceccone  that  he  would  "  see  to 
it  (acconciare  la  cosa),"  the  garbled  report  of  the  evidence  drawn  up 
by  him,  and  published  by  command  of  the  Signory,  contained  little 
that  was  of  a  sensational  character.^ 

1  Marchese,  p.  180  (n.  30). 

2  Gherardi,  p.  242. 

2  This  is  distinctly  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  "  primo  processo  "  in  Villari, 
loc.  cit.y  p.  clxix. 

*  Experience  having  tauglit  us  how  easy  it  is  to  be  misunderstood,  we  venture 
to  point  out  that  to  say  that  nothing  new  of  serious  moment  had  been  elicited  by 


THE  TRIAL 


375 


What  the  motives  were  which  led  the  Signory  to  make  an 
abortive  attempt  to  suppress  this  official  edition  of  the  process  it  is 
not  possible  to  determine  with  certainty.  According  to  Lorenzo 
Vivoli  and  Fra  Benedetto,  the  civic  authorities  felt  that  the 
published  evidence  was  not  sufficient  to  justify  them  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people  for  proceeding  to  extreme  measures  against  Fra 
Girolamo.^  And  this  might  be  the  case,  even  though  the  main 
facts,  concerning  which  there  could  be  no  dispute,  were  actually 
such  as,  in  their  judgment,  to  call  for  the  most  severe  punishment. 
For  the  people  were  not  likely  to  be  greatly  impressed  by  the 
enormity  of  a  plot  for  the  calling  of  a  Council,  which  was,  after  all, 
the  real  gravamen  of  the  charge  against  Savonarola.  But  we  are 
inclined  to  think  that  another  reason  may  have  had  its  weight  in 
determining  the  Signory  to  attempt  the  suppression  of  the  process. 
In  the  course  of  Fra  Girolamo's  evidence,  whether  truly  or  falsely 
reported  in  these  particulars,  the  names  of  a  considerable  number 
of  prominent  citizens  are  mentioned.  And  it  may  well  have  been 
felt  that  the  publication  of  these  names,  in  such  a  connection,  and  at 
such  a  crisis,  was  hardly  calculated  to  promote  the  peace  of  the  city. 
It  is  clear  from  the  debates  held  at  this  time  that  grave  apprehensions 
were  entertained  lest  disturbances  should  arise  if  too  great  a 
number  of  citizens  were  punished.  And  the  mere  fear  of  punish- 
ment which  those  would  experience  who  found  themselves  com- 
promised by  Savonarola's  published  confession  might  well  have  a 
Hke  effect. 

However  this  may  be,  orders  were  issued  that  all  copies  of  the 
process  should  be  at  once  returned  to  the  printer.  For  the  most 
part  the  command  was  obeyed,  but  naturally  enough  some  few 
remained  in  the  hands  of  their  possessors ;  and  in  course  of  time 

the  examination  is  not  the  same  thing  as  to  say  that  nothing  serious  was,  or  could 
be,  proved  against  him.  Ceccone's  remark  is  said  to  have  been  overheard  by  a 
friend  of  Cinozzi's,  who  reported  it  to  that  writer.  "  Nota  circa  processum 
et  mortem,  come  un  giorno  un  gran  cittadino,  di  quelli  che  examinorono  il 
P.  f.  Jeronimo,  in  una  bottega  che  era  sua  di  Arte  di  lana  ovvero  di  seta,  insieme 
con  ser  Ccccone,  e  parlando,  disse  :  '  Che  cosa  e  questa  ?  El  frate  non  confessa 
nulla,  noi  siamo  disfatti,  el  popol  ci  lapidera,'  et  similia.  Allor  ser  Ceccone  disse  : 
'Lassate  fare  a  me:  io  acconcer6  la  cosa  in  modo  che  codesto  non  sara.'  E 
fecelo.  E  questo  il  referi  uno  il  quale,  essendo  di  sopra  in  soppalco,  udi  ogni 
cosa.  Loro  non  pensavon  che  di  sopra  fusse  nessuno.  Sed  nihil  occultitrn  quod 
non  revehtur"  (Cinozzi,  p.  28).  The  evidence  of  an  eavesdropper,  reported  at 
second  hand  by  a  partisan  witness,  is  not,  however,  to  be  implicitly  trusted. 
*  Vivoli,  Sesta  Giomata,  a/«flf  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  p.  cxiv. 


376  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

a   second    edition  was    put    upon   the    market    by   private    enter- 
prise.^ 

It  is  clear  however  that,  apart  from  the  question  of  publication, 
considerable  dissatisfaction  was  felt  at  the  result  of  the  first  series  of 
interrogatories,  for  a  second  examination  was  held  on  21st  April, 
and  the  two  following  days.  The  torture  was  applied  with  increased 
violence,  but  to  little  effect,  for  this  "  second  process,"  which  has 
been  brought  to  light  by  Villari  in  our  own  days,  adds  nothing  of 
moment  to  what  can  be  gathered  from  the  first.^ 

But  Fra  Girolamo  was  not  the  only  person  put  upon  his  trial  on 
this  occasion.  The  examination  of  the  other  prisoners  was  distributed 
over  various  days  from  the  nth  to  the  27th  April,  and  many  of  them, 
like  Savonarola  himself,  were  examined  a  second  time.^  The  27th 
seems  to  have  been  marked  by  a  specially  energetic  effort  to  extort 
evidence,  as  the  following  entry  in  Landucci's  Diary  sufficiently  attests. 

"  And  on  27th  April  all  the  citizens  who  had  been  arrested  for  this 
affair  were  put  to  the  torture,  so  that  from  nine  in  the  morning  till  night- 
fall (dalle  15  ore  insino  a  sera)  their  cries  could  be  continually  heard  in 
the  Bargello  "  {i.e.  the  city  prison).^ 

In  one  particular  Ser  Ceccone  and  his  employers  could  flatter 
themselves  that  they  had  been  successful.  Among  the  effects  of 
the  falsified  process  of  Savonarola  not  the  least  remarkable  was 
the  complete  break-down,  at  least  for  the  time,  of  the  confidence 
of  the  most  devoted  followers  of  the  Friar.  On  19th  April  a  portion 
of  the  first  "  process  "  was  read  before  the  Signory  and  an  assembly 
of  citizens.  The  devout  physician  Luca  Landucci  thus  records  the 
effect  of  this  proceeding  in  his  own  case  : — 

"And  on  19th  April  1498,  they  read  before  the  Council,  in  the  great 
hall,  the  process  of  Fra  Girolamo,  which  he  had  written  with  his  own 
hand  ;  a  man  whom  we  had  held  for  a  prophet,  but  who  (now)  confessed 

1  Vivoli  {loc.  cit.,  p.  cxvi)  relates  the  recall  of  the  official  edition,  but  says 
that  a  friend  of  his  retained  his  copy.  Villari  seems  to  be  in  error  when  he  writes 
(p.  20i) :  "  Dopo  qualche  giorno,  se  ne  vide  comparire  una  seconda  edizione." 
Had  this  been  so,  Vivoli  might  have  been  expected  to  mention  it.  That  two 
editions  appeared  "in  the  fifteenth  century,"  as  Villari  states,  is,  no  doubt  true. 
And  Burlaniacchi  (p.  163)  speaks  of  the  second  edition  as  if  it  had  appeared  within 
the  lifetime  of  Ceccone,  and  therefore  within  a  few  months  of  the  first  publication. 
But  this  is  not  quite  the  same  as  saying  that  it  appeared  "  dopo  qualche  giorno." 

"  Villari,  ii.  203,  and  Append,  pp.  clxxv  sqq. 

^  The  dates  of  the  various  depositions  are  given  at  the  head  ol  each.  They 
are,  as  has  been  said,  in  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  cxcix  sqq. 

*  Landucci,  p.  174. 


THE  TRIAL  377 

that  lie  was  no  prophet,  and  that  he  had  not  received  from  God  the  things 
which  he  had  preached.  .  .  .  And  I  was  present  at  the  reading  of  this 
process,  whereat  I  wondered,  and  was  altogether  astounded.  And  my 
soul  was  deeply  grieved  to  see  so  great  an  edifice  cast  down  by  reason  of 
having  been  built  on  the  bad  foundation  of  one  single  lie.  I  had  expected 
that  Florence  would  prove  to  be  the  new  Jerusalem  whence  good  laws 
were  to  come  forth,  and  the  splendid  example  of  a  virtuous  life,  and  I  had 
looked  to  see  the  renovation  of  the  Church,  the  conversion  of  the  infidels, 
and  the  consolation  of  all  good  men.  And  now  I  perceived  the  contrary, 
and  for  medicine  I  took  the  words  :  '  In  voluntate  tua  Domine,  omnia 
sunt  posita.' "  * 

Whether  it  was  officially  announced  that  the  document  read 
before  the  Council  was  in  the  handwriting  of  Fra  Girolamo  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  determine,  but  we  may  at  least  feel  sure  that 
every  means  short  of  an  official  announcement  had  been  taken 
by  the  Friar's  enemies,  including  the  Signory  and  the  Board  of 
Examiners,  to  spread  and  confirm  the  report.  Somenzi  gives  his 
own  version  of  the  affair,  which  shows  clearly  enough  the  motives 
of  the  Signory.  Somenzi,  as  will  be  seen,  either  believed,  or 
affected  to  believe,  that  graver  matters  lay  behind. 

19///  April ;  Somenzi  to  Sforza.^ — To-day  the  Signory  have  caused  to 
be  published,  in  presence  of  the  Great  Council,  a  portion  of  the  process  of 
Fra  Hieronimo,  ihat  is  to  say,  of  certain  things  which  are  of  no  great  im- 
portance.  And  this  was  done  solely  with  the  intention  of  enlightening  the 
people,  and  letting  them  see  that  he  was  a  wicked  scoundrel  (uno  scelerato 
e  ribaldo)  ;  because  many  of  his  followers  declared  that  he  was  a  good 
and  just  man,  and  that  neither  by  means  of  the  rope  nor  of  any  other  form 
of  torture  had  his  examiners  been  able  to  discover  any  crime  in  him  ;  for 
it  was  alleged  that  if  they  had  really  discovered  anything  of  the  kind,  they 
would  not  have  let  one  hour  go  by  without  making  known  the  result  of 
their  investigations. 

Landucci  was  by  no  means  the  only  person  whose  faith  was 
shaken  by  the  report  of  Savonarola's  examination.  Some  portion  of 
it  at  least  must  have  been  shown  or  read  to  the  friars  of  S.  Marco. 
Nothing  else,  it  would  seem,  can  account  for  the  concluding  words 
of  the  deposition  of  Fra  Ruberto  Ubaldini  da  Gagliano,  of  whom  we 
shall  hear  more  in  the  next  chapter.     He  writes : — 

"  With  the  exception  of  the  misgivings  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and 
which  I  afterwards  put  aside  ...  I  never  obsei-ved  anything  amiss  in 
Fra  Hieronymo,  but  on  the  contrary  I  always  saw  in  him  great  signs  of 
holiness  and  devotion  .  .  .  and  sound  and  solid  learning ;  so  much  so 

1  Landucci,  p.  173.  '•'  Vill.iri,  ii.  Api-end.  p.  cv. 


378  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

that  I  would  have  suffered  any  kind  of  death  to  attest  this.  Bui  since  he 
has  so  craftily  hoodunnJccd  and  deceived  i/s,  I  thank  Cod  and  your  lordships 
that  you  have  en  lightened  usj  and  we  beg^  that  you  will  keep  these  good 
sons  of  yours  here,  and  will  not  suffer  them  to  be  dispersed.  .  .  .  And 
whereas  we  were  told  yesterday  that  your  lordships  had  it  in  mind  to  send 
back  Fra  Domenico  and  Fra  Silvestro  to  our  house,  we  have  all  held 
counsel  together,  and  determined  that  we  will  not  have  them  again  ('perche 
sono  scandalosi  ')•  Keep  them  you,  and  do  what  you  like  with  them  ('  con 
misericordia'),  or  let  the  Pope  or  the  General  dispose  of  them  ;  but  as  for 
us,  we  do  not  wish  to  contaminate  our  innocence  by  complicity  with  the 
sins  of  others."  ^ 

It  will  be  seen  that  Fra  Ruberto  here  takes  it  upon  himself  to 
speak  in  the  name  of  the  community.  That  he  did  not  misrepresent 
their  sentiments  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  letter  which,  at  the 
instance  of  Fra  Malatesta  Sacramoro,  they  despatched  to  the  Pope  on 
2ist  April.  "  Pen  cannot  write,  nor  tongue  express  " — so  they  say — 
the  gratitude  which  they  owe,  after  God,  to  his  Holiness  for  the 
fatherly  solicitude  with  which  he  has  delivered  them  from  "  the 
depths  of  the  darkness  of  error,"  in  which  they  had  been  plunged 
by  the  crafty  and  cunning  deceits  of  Fra  Hieronymo  of  Ferrara. 
In  words  which  reek  with  nauseous  and  fulsome  flattery,  and  which 
condemn  their  late  Prior  in  every  mood  and  tense,  they  implore 
forgiveness,  in  consideration  of  the  good  faith  under  which  they  have 
acted;  and,  strange  to  say,  they  petition  for  the  maintenance  of 
their  existence  as  an  independent  congregation  immediately  subject 
to  the  General  of  the  Order.  Their  letter,  with  the  Pope's  reply, 
may  be  found  in  Perrens."  We  will  not  waste  space  by  transcribing 
them  here.  There  is,  however,  one  strange  document,  drawn  up  on 
the  following  day,  for  which  we  must  find  room.  Fra  Ruberto  da 
Gagliano,  who  has  been  mentioned  above,  had  for  some  time  exer- 
cised the  functions  of  private  secretary  to  Fra  Girolamo.  His 
successor  in  the  office  had  been  a  certain  Fra  Niccolb  da  Milano 
of  whom,  as  well  as  of  Fra  Ruberto,  the  reader  will  hear  more 
anon.  The  following  is  a  literal  translation  of  the  missive  which 
this  worthy  thought  proper  to  write  to  the  Signory  in  the  day  of  his 
late  Prior's  dire  distress. 

Fra  Niccolo  da  Milano  to  the  Examining  Commissioners.' — "To  the 
Right  Honourable  (magnificis)  the  Lords  Examiners  of  the  false  prophet, 

^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  cclxii. 

2  Perrens,   Doc.    xvii.,   xviii.,  pp.    394  sqq.   (ed.    1856).      The  Signory  also 
wrote  to  the  Pope  at  this  time  on  behalf  of  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco. 
^  Gherardi,  p,  252. 


THE  TRIAL  379 

Hyeronimo  of  Ferrara.  Right  honourable  and  my  most  excellent  Lords  : 
Understanding'  that  your  lordsliips  desire  to  have  information  from  me 
concerning  the  affairs  of  Kra  Hyeronimo  of  Ferrara,  and  knowing  as  I  do 
the  incredible  deceits  (I'inexcogitabile  fraude)  of  that  seducer  (at  the 
thought  of  which  I  am  astounded,  and  beside  myself,  for  it  seems  to  me  that 
no  greater  wickedness  can  be  imagined  under  heaven),  I  am  no  less 
desirous  to  explain  and  lay  before  you  all  that  I  know  of  him,  and  all  my 
dealings  with  him,  than  your  lordships  are  [that  I  should  do  so]  ;  in  which 
dealings  I,  walking  in  simplicity  of  heart  before  God,  thought  to  do  a 
service  to  Him.  And  whereas  I  find  myself  unable  to  leave  the  house  by 
reason  of  the  infirmity  which  I  suffer,  I  pray  your  lordships  to  send  one 
of  your  secretaries  to  me,  to  whom  I  may  reveal  everything  that  I  know, 
the  truth  of  which  it  will  be  very  easy  to  test  and  verify.  And  whereas 
Era  Hyeronimo  entrusted  certain  letters  to  me  in  confession,  of  which 
Fra  Domenico  and  Fra  Sylvestro  likewise  had  knowledge,  and  concerning 
which  I  suppose  that  those  three  will  have  spoken  (le  habbino  mani- 
festate)  ;  to  the  end  that  without  scruple  of  conscience  I  may  be  at  liberty 
to  declare  everything,  I  pray  your  lordships  to  cause  Fra  Hyeronimo  to 
draw  up  a  paper  (una  polizza)  in  his  own  handwriting,  wherein  he  shall 
give  me  permission  to  speak  of  those  things  which  he  has  confided  to  me 
under  seal  of  confession.  And  if  it  should  so  be  that  you  desire  that  I 
should  convey  myself  as  best  I  can  to  your  presence,  I  am  prepared  to 
undergo  any  discomfort  to  satisfy  your  lordships,  to  whom  I  commend 
myself. — From  the  Convent  of  S.  Marco,  Florence,  12th  April,  1498. 
Your  lordships'  unworthy  brother,  NICHOLAS  OF  Milan,  O.P." 

We  learn  with  some  satisfaction  that  this  reverend  gentleman  was, 
on  27th  May,  invited  by  the  Signory  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  exile 
from  Florentine  territory  for  the  space  of  ten  years.  Whether  the  change 
of  air  proved  beneficial  to  his  health  we  cannot  say,  but  it  is  safe  to 
conjecture  that  for  all  his  fine  writing  he  did  not  obtain  another 
berth  as  private  and  confidential  secretary.  Fra  Ruberto  da  Gagliano, 
Fra  Mariano  Ughi,  and  another,  shared  his  exile;  and  a  decree  of 
4th  June  imposed  a  like  penalty  on  Fra  Malatesta  Sacramoro  and 
several  of  his  fellow-religious.^ 

As  the  mention  of  knowledge  communicated,  or  said  to  have 
been  communicated,  "  in  confession  "  will  more  than  once  recur 
hereafter,  it  may  be  well  to  remind  the  reader  that  whereas  the  seal 
of  confession  binds  the  confessor,  it  does  not,  and  cannot,  bind  the 
penitent.  Still  less,  of  course,  can  the  communication  of  documents 
by  a  rehgious  superior  to  his  subordinate,  or  by  any  one — priest  or 
layman — to  a  friend,  be  brought  under  the  sacramental  "  sigillum." 
When,  then,  we  find   Fra  Girolamo  speaking  of  having  entrusted 

^  Villaii,  loc.  cit,,  pp.  cclxx.wiii  S(jq, 


3So  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

secret  documents  to  one  or  another  of  bis  subordinates  or  friends, 
or  when  we  find  them  speaking  of  having  received  such  documents, 
"  in  confession,"  we  can  only  conclude  that  a  very  inaccurate  and 
misleading  terminology  had  taken  root  at  S.  Marco,  and  one  which 
bears  witness  to  an  unhealthy  state  of  things  as  prevailing  within  the 
inner  circle  of  Savonarola's  more  intimate  associates. 

But  to  return  to  the  course  of  public  affairs.  On  21st  April  the 
Signory  wrote  to  Bonsi,  enclosing  a  letter  to  the  Pope,  and  an 
extract  from  the  process.^  The  letters  call  for  no  special  comment 
beyond  the  remark  that  they  are  couched  in  language  of  unmeasured 
vituperation  of  the  Friar.  On  25th  April  a  portion  of  the  second 
process  was  read  before  the  Council,  and  on  the  following  day 
a  Pratica  was  held.-  Two  points  were  proposed  for  discussion, 
viz.  (i)  "Sopra  il  provedimento  di  danaio,"  for  the  republic  was  in 
sore  financial  straits,  and  (2)  "concerning  the  examination  of  the 
Friars."  The  minutes  are  of  the  briefest,  only  four  speeches  being 
reported,  and  these  in  the  fewest  possible  words.  But  enough  is 
said  to  make  it  clear  that  a  revulsion  of  popular  feeling  was  seriously 
apprehended. 

Simone  Bonciani.  —  As  regards  the  examination,  let  the  citizens  be 
reassured,  and  let  them  be  given  to  understand  that  the  affair  will  be  for 
the  common  weal  (credendo  questo  habbi  a  essere  utilissima  cosa). 

Ridolfo  Ridolfi. — Let  the  city  be  pacified  ;  this  is  the  first  condidon 
necessary  for  the  raising  of  funds. 

Guidantonio  Vespucci  agrees  with  the  last  speaker  as  to  the  necessity 
for  pacifying  the  city.  To  this  end  it  is  desirable  that  too  much  stress 
should  not  be  laid  on  the  joint  letter  of  the  citizens  in  favour  of  Fra 
Girolamo,  because,  in  this  affair,  many  people  followed  one  another  like 
sheep  ;  and  the  law  allows  us  to  overlook  such  matters  ;  but  if  there  be 
any  who  are  guilty  of  graver  crimes,  let  them  be  punished  ("con  miseri- 
cordia")  by  the  Eighty  or  by  the  Great  Council.^  For  the  subsidy  a 
new  provision  must  be  made,  but  care  must  be  taken  that  the  ofticials 
proceed  according  to  law,  and  not  arbitrarily. 

Guido  Mannelli  agrees  that  the  joint  letter  must  not  be  taken  too 
seriously.  The  real  fault  was  of  a  few  only.  The  rest  followed  out  of 
simplicity. 

^  Marchesc,  pp.  183  sqq.  (nn.  33,  34). 

2  Villari,  ii.  203  ;  Lupi,  p.  69. 

^  The  "  subscription,"  or  joint  letter  to  the  Pope,  of  a  number  of  Florentine 
citizens  in  favour  of  Svvonarola,  which  had  been  set  on  foot  in  the  summer  of 
1497,  but  never  carried  to  completion,  formed  one  of  the  chief  heads  on  which 
the  witnesses  at  the  trial  were  examined. 


THE  TRIAL  381 

A  much  longer  debate,  however,  took  place  on  the  following 
day.i  And  this,  too,  turned  principally  on  the  joint  letter  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made.  The  first  speakers  insist  that  the 
law — which  forbade  unauthorised  communications  with  the  Pope,  or 
indeed  with  any  sovereign — must  be  vindicated,  and  that  while  those 
who  were  guilty  as  principals  must  be  punished,  the  rest  may  be 
more  leniently  dealt  with.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  frequently 
the  words  "  con  misericordia  "  recur,  even  in  the  recommendations 
that  justice  be  done.  "  Che  la  cosa  si  tractassi,"  says  Doffo  Spini, 
"  con  misericordia  e  con  ragione."  But  Guidantonio  Vespucci,  whose 
words  evidently  carried  more  weight  in  these  discussions  than  those 
of  any  other  speaker,  is  not  quite  satisfied  with  the  opinions 
expressed  by  his  colleagues. 

"Those  who  say  that  the  laws  must  be  observed  say  well,  and  I  quite 
agree  with  them.  But  I  understand  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  judge  to  pass 
sentence  in  accordance  with  facts  (secondo  acta  et  actitata)  and  not  after 
his  own  fancy.  Now,  if  we  could  clearly  ascertain,  in  accordance  with 
the  distinction  which  has  been  laid  down,  who  were  the  leaders  in  this 
matter,  and  who  the  followers,  well  and  good.  But  because  I  don't  know 
what  part  was  taken  by  each,  I  think  they  ought  either  to  be  all  convicted 
or  all  acquitted.  And  this  being  so,  I  submit  that  it  is  better  to  acquit 
one  who  is  guilty,  than  to  convict  one  who  is  innocent." 

Several  of  the  councillors  thereafter  declared  that  they  saw  no 
punishable  crime  in  the  joint  letter,  others  think  that  a  light  penalty 
ought  to  be  inflicted  ("se  ne  facci  qualche  segno,  ma  con  miseri- 
cordia"), and  Bernardo  Rucellai  roundly  declares  that  an  act  of 
justice  which  would  ruin  the  city  would  be  no  true  justice. 

On  28th  April  the  case  of  the  persons  who  had  been  examined 
concerning  the  affair  of  Fra  Girolamo  was  again  discussed.^  Ridolfo 
Ridolfi  expressed  his  satisfaction  that  the  whole  affair  has  turned  out 
so  much  less  serious  than  had  been  supposed  ("  hanno  preso  gran 
conforto  per  essere  paruta  piccola  cosa").  Let  the  business  be 
settled  to-night.  Let  the  joint  letter  be  passed  over,  but  let  more 
account  be  made  of  the  letters  to  princes.  Piero  Parent!  counsels 
that  justice  be  done  on  the  more  guilty,  but  "con  gran  misericordia." 
Guidantonio  Vespucci  would  have  the  joint  letter  passed  over  as 
not  punishable.  But  the  writing  of  letters  to  princes,  with  a  view  of 
inducing  them  to  call  a  Council,  especially  at  so  critical  a  time,  is  a 
much  more  serious  matter.     Those  who  have  been  guilty  in  this 

»  Lupi,  pp.  69  sqq.  *  Lupi,  pp.  72  sqq. 


382  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

respect. should  be  punished;  "for  I  think  there  are  statutes  which 
prohibit  the  writing  to  princes."  So,  too,  those  should  be  punished 
who  sent  arms  to  S.  Marco,  and  those  who  took  up  arms  there 
contrary  to  the  commands  of  the  Signory.  As  for  those  who  have 
conspired  not  to  vote  for  particular  citizens,  "  in  the  first  place,  we 
have  no  juridical  proofs ;  secondly,  where  many  have  been  at  fault, 
there  is  room  for  some  indulgence;  and  thirdly,  to  punish  a 
multitude  would  not  promote  the  peace  of  the  city."^ 

Most  of  the  speakers  who  follow  express  their  agreement,  in 
substance,  with  Vespucci ;  and  on  the  whole,  they  are  in  favour  of 
mild  measures  for  the  sake  of  the  general  peace  ("con  quella 
humanita  che  sia  per  preservare  e'  nostri  cittadini").  Jacopo 
Schiattesi  "  for  the  seventh  bench  "  says  : — 

"Three  of  my  colleagues  think  the  whole  affair  very  trivial,  three 
others  think  it  of  great  importance  ;  as  for  me,  I  think  the  city  was  never 
in  worse  case.  Let  us  punish  the  guilty  with  clemency,  and  settle  the 
matter  without  scandal." 

Hardly  a  word  appears  to  have  been  said,  in  the  course  of 
these  debates,  concerning  Fra  Girolamo  himself  and  his  two  more 
immediate  companions.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  guilt 
was  taken  as  abundantly  proved,  and  as  deserving  of  capital  punish- 
ment. The  only  speaker  who,  according  to  the  published  reports, 
explicitly  alludes  to  the  three  Friars,  is  Niccolb  Rucellai,  who  declares 
that  he  and  his  colleagues  "  would  desire  to  see  them  severely 
(agramente)  punished,  but  with  the  Pope's  permission." 

The  upshot  of  these  protracted  discussions  was  the  infliction  of 
various  fines  and  sentences  of  banishment  or  temporary  disfranchise- 
ment on  several  of  the  principal  persons  among  those  who  had  been 
examined. 2  And  this  being  once  settled,  it  only  remained  to  consider 
the  case  of  Savonarola  himself,  and  of  Domenico  and  Salvestro. 

On  5th  May  the  question  was  once  more  proposed  for  discussion 
whether  the  three  should  be  sent  to  Rome,  in  accordance  with  the 
demands  of  the  Pope.^  The  prevailing  sentiment  was  that  the 
Pope  should  by  all  means  be  requested  to  allow  the  execution  to 

^  The  concluding  sentence  of  the  speech,  as  reported,  is  not  very  clear:  "Et 
quelli  che  per  mentecattagine  havessin  peccato,  fare  che  il  comune  ne  sentissi 
qualche  utile  "  (p.  74). 

*  Villari,  ii.  216,  who  refers  to  unpublished  documents  in  the  Florentine 
archives. 

^  Lupi,  pp.  75  sqq.  This  is  the  last  of  the  debates  of  which  he  has  published 
the  minutes. 


THE  TRIAL  383 

lake  place  at  Florence,  where  the  alleged  crimes  had  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  that  he  should  be  invited  to  send  commissaries  to 
examine  them  on  his  own  behalf.  That  they  must  suffer  death  is 
assumed  ;  and  how  little  regard  was  felt  for  the  prisoners,  by  com- 
parison with  the  importance  of  what  was  assumed  to  be  for  the 
public  welfare,  is  evidenced  by  the  advice  of  Giovanni  Canacci  that 
if  they  must  be  sent  to  Rome  they  should  first  be  once  more 
examined  ;  but  that  it  is  most  undesirable  to  send  them,  "  as  the 
execution  can  take  place  here  much  more  quietly." 

As  the  result  of  the  debate  the  Signory  wrote  to  the  Pope  entreat- 
ing him  to  allow  the  execution  to  take  place  at  Florence,  and  to 
Bonsi,  urging  him  to  press  the  matter.^  At  last,  on  12th  May,  the 
Pope  acceded  to  the  request,  sending,  however,  as  he  had  been 
invited,  two  special  commissaries  with  full  powers  to  examine  the 
Friars  de  novo,  in  the  hope  of  extorting  some  fresh  evidence.  At 
the  same  time  he  grants  to  the  Florentines  the  coveted  tithe,  to  be 
imposed  during  three  successive  years.^  No  wonder  that  the  friends 
of  Fra  Girolamo,  with  a  pardonable  disregard  of  the  niceties  of 
arithmetic,  should  have  seen  in  this  threefold  tithe  a  resemblance  to 
the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  for  which  Judas  sold  his  Master  to  the 
chief  priests  of  the  Jews. 

The  papal  commissaries  appointed  for  the  ungracious  task  of  once 
more  examining  a  man  already  enfeebled  by  torture  and  imprison- 
ment were  Francesco  Romolino,  a  cleric  of  Ilerda  in  Spain,  and  an 
ofificial  of  the  papal  Court,  who  was  soon  afterwards  created  a  cardinal, 
and  Savonarola's  quondam  friend  and  supporter  Fra  Gioacchino 
Torriano,  General  of  the  Dominican  Order.  If  Burlamacchi  is  to  be 
believed,  Romolino  showed  from  the  outset  a  most  unseemly  levity 
concerning  the  whole  affair,  and  openly  gave  it  to  be  understood  that 
the  issue  of  the  trial  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  "  We  shall  have  a 
fine  bonfire,"  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  for  I  have  the  sentence 
of  condemnation  in  my  pocket  (in  petto)."  ^  For  Romolino, 
personally,  we  have  no  kind  of  sympathy.  He  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  scandalous  life,  and  no  one  has  put  on  record  a 
single  word  in  his  favour.*     At  the  same  time,  it  is  not  wise  to 

1  Marchese,  pp.  186  sqg.  (nn.  36,  37). 

^  Gherardi,  p.  266. 

^  Burlamacchi,  p.  163. 

*  Filipepi  (p.  500)  relates  a  shocking  incident  of  his  visit  to  Florence,  with 
which  we  will  not  soil  these  pages.  Unfortunately,  the  affair  seems  to  have  been 
only  too  notorious. 


384  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

attach  too  much  importance  to  mere  street-corner  gossip.  If  the 
story  which  we  have  just  reported  has  any  foundation  at  all,  it  is 
probably  this,  that  Romolino  made  some  imprudent  statement  to 
the  effect  that  he  already  possessed  proof  enough,  viz.  in  the 
intercepted  letter  to  the  King  of  France,  to  secure  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  Friar,  even  though  no  fresh  evidence  should  be  forth- 
coming. For,  indeed,  the  business  of  the  commissaries  was  not  so 
much  to  try  the  issue  "  guilty  or  not  guilty,"  as  to  ratify  the  proceed- 
ings which  had  already  taken  place,  and  to  endeavour,  if  possible, 
to  elicit  some  fresh  information  from  the  prisoners.  Another 
brutal  saying  is  attributed  to  Romolino  by  the  same  authority, 
which  perhaps  deserves  mention,  though  it  must  of  course  be 
received  with  reserve.  It  is  alleged,  and  is  probably  true,  that 
many  were  in  favour  of  showing  mercy  to  Fra  Domenico,  of  whom 
nothing  worse  could  be  said,  on  the  most  unfavourable  hypothesis, 
than  that  he  had  been  misled  by  Savonarola.  To  this  more 
lenient  course  Romolino  is  said  to  have  been  inclined.  But  when 
it  was  represented  to  him  that  to  spare  Fra  Domenico  would 
be  to  provide  for  the  perpetuation  of  Savonarola's  teaching  and 
work,  he  replied — so  the  story  goes — that  "  one  beggarly  friar  (uno 
frataccio)  more  or  less  "  did  not  much  matter.^ 

Of  the  behaviour  of  Torriano  no  record  seems  to  have  been 
preserved,  and  in  view  of  the  high  character  which  he  bore,  we  may 
at  least  give  him  credit  for  having  regarded  his  task  in  the  light  of 
an  unwelcome  and  unpleasant  duty.  However  this  may  be,  it  is 
certain  beyond  dispute  that  on  20th  May,  and  the  two  following 
days,  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  two  companions  were  once  more  put  to 
the  torture,  and  once  more  examined,  in  particular  concerning  the 
efforts  which  had  been  made  for  the  calling  of  a  Council. 

For  the  details  of  the  evidence  given  at  this  and  at  the  earlier 
examinations  the  reader  must  turn,  if  he  has  a  mind  to  do  so,  to  the 
following  chapters.^ 

^  Burlamacchi,  he.  cit, 

"^  Dr  Schnitzer  {H.P.B.  cxxv.  271  sqq.)  impugns  the  parallel  drawn  in  this 
chapter  between  the  case  of  Savonarola  and  that  of  Bernardo  del  Nero.  The  latter, 
he  points  out,  had  been  cognisant  of  treasonable  dealings  with  Piero  de'  Medici, 
then  under  sentence  of  outlawry.  With  Charles  VIII.,  on  the  other  hand,  Florence 
had  an  alliance  of  long  standing.  But  the  fact  that  Charles  VIII.  was  an  ally 
surely  did  not,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  justify  a  private  individual  in  inviting  him  to 
invade  Italy.  It  must  be  conceded,  however,  that  Savonarola's  political  dealings 
with  Charles  VIII.  were  not  among  the  grounds  of  his  condemnation  by  the 
Papal  commissaries,  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  this  particular  affair. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

THE   DEPOSITIONS   OF    FRA    DOMENICO,    FRA    SALVESTRO, 
AND    NINETEEN    OTHERS 

IN  all  matters  wherein  there  is  need  of  sifting  the  true  from  the 
false,  it  is  obviously  well  to  commence  with  what  is  certain 
beyond  dispute.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  value  of  the 
alleged  confessions,  or  "  processes,"  as  they  are  called,  of  Fra 
Girolamo  himself,  there  is  no  question  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
autograph  deposition  of  Fra  Domenico,  which  has  been  brought  to 
light  by  Villari  within  recent  years,  and  of  which  Fra  Benedetto 
declares  that  it  is  "  vero  in  tucto  e  per  tucto."  Of  Fra  Salvestro's 
evidence  he  says  that  it  is  **  vero  ma  non  in  tucto,"  for  it  has  been 
altered  by  sundry  additions  and  omissions  which,  however,  are,  he 
says,  of  trifling  moment.  Then,  too,  the  depositions  of  the  nine- 
teen other  witnesses  are  for  the  most  part  in  their  own  handwriting, 
characterised  as  this  is  in  almost  every  case  by  more  or  less  marked 
peculiarities  of  phrase  and  orthography.  There  can  then  be  no 
doubt  that  the  whole  collection,  which  has  been  published  in  the 
Appendix  to  Villari's  second  volume,  constitutes  a  valuable,  and,  on 
the  whole,  a  trustworthy  body  of  evidence.  We  therefore  propose, 
before  touching  upon  Fra  Girolamo's  supposed  confessions,  to  set 
forth  the  substance  of  those  of  his  companions.  They  will,  perhaps, 
be  found  to  be  of  greater  interest  than  his  own,  with  all  its  attendant 
drawbacks  of  questionable  authenticity  and  doubtful  accuracy. 

The   principal   heads   on    which    the    various    deponents    were 
examined  are  as  follows : — 

I.  The  alleged  visions  and  revelations  of  Fra  Girolamo. 
II.  His  letters  to  various  European  sovereigns. 
III.  The  alleged  political  intrigues  of  Savonarola   himself  and 

of  the  Friars  of  S.  Marco  in  general. 
IV.  The  "  subscription,"  or  joint  letter,  of  a  number  of  Florentine 
citizens  to  the  Pope  in  favour  of  Savonarola. 

2  B  ^^5 


386  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

V.  The  affair  of  the  Cimento,  or  Ordeal  by  Fire. 

VI.  The  Riot  on  Palm  Sunday,  8th  April.i 

Concerning  the  last-named  point,  enough  has  been  said  above, 
in  chapter  xx.,  and  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  deal  with  it  again. 
The  other  heads  of  evidence  may  be  taken  in  their  order. 

I.  The  visions  and  revelations  of  Fra  Girolamo. — On  this  head  it 
is  obvious  that  no  one  except  Fra  Girolamo  himself  and  his  two 
more  intimate  companions,  Domenico  and  Salvestro,  was  in  a 
position  to  say  anything  definite,  and,  indeed,  the  other  witnesses 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  questioned  on  this  subject.  The  auto- 
graph testimony  of  Fra  Domenico  is  full  of  interest,  and  deserves  to 
be  here  summarised  : — 

"  I,  Fra  Domenico,  a  servant  of  God,  having  been  requested  to  set 
down  in  writing  the  truth,  so  far  as  it  is  known  to  me,  concerning  the 
prophecies  and  the  doctrine  preached  by  the  reverend  father,  Fra 
Hieronymo,  do  here  testify,  in  presence  of  the  most  Holy  Trinity,  and 
of  the  Immacuiate  Queen  of  Florence,  the  Mother  of  cur  King  and 
Redeemer,  and  of  all  the  heavenly  court,  that  what  I  shall  here  write  is 
the  simple  truth. 

"  Our  father,  Fra  Hieronymo,  when  he  was  expounding,  I  think,  the 
prophet  Amos,  having  set  forth  some  exposition  which  it  was  not  time  to 
give,  since  God  did  not  so  will,  made  use  of  some  expression  similar  to 
that  of  the  prophet  himself:  '  Non  sum  propheta — I  am  no  prophet' 
Moreover,  I  remember  to  have  once  heard  him  say  that  he  hoped  that 
one  of  his  companions  would  one  day  explain  how  he  came  by  the 
knowledge  of  those  things  which  he  had  set  forth.  And  when  I  after- 
wards asked  him  whether  he  had  said  this  on  his  own  account,  he 
answered.  No  (implying  that  he  had  said  it  by  divine  inspiration). 

"I  then  have  ever  firmly  believed,  and  as  I  know  of  no  reason  to  the 
contrary  I  still  believe,  that  Pisa  is  to  be  ours  again,  and  that  you  will 
also  come  into  possession  of  other  lands  which  were  never  yours  before, 
and  that  Florence  will  be  richer  and  more  powerful  and  more  glorious 
than  ever,  not  by  her  own  power,  but  by  that  of  God  and  of  His  Mother  ; 
and  so,  too,  I  believe  those  other  things  foretold  by  Fra  Hieronymo 
concerning  the  chastisement  of  the  Church,  and  the  conversion  of  the 

1  We  take  no  account  of  the  stupid  calumny  that  the  friars  of  S.  Maico  had 
hoarded  up  treasures  within  their  walls.  This,  indeed,  if  we  may  believe 
Benedetto,  was  one  of  the  principal  topics  on  which  it  was  proposed  to  examine 
the  witnesses  (Villari,  loc.  cii.,  p.  cxxxii).  Those  of  the  witnesses  who  mention 
the  subject  do  so  only  to  scout  the  notion.  We  gather  from  the  depositions  that 
certain  goods  and  a  sum  of  money  belonging  to  the  Medici  was  left  for  safety  in 
the  convent  at  the  time  of  Piero's  flight.  But  everything  bad  been  restored. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  only  foundation  for  a  charge  which,  considering  the 
unbounded  liberality  of  Fra  Girolamo  in  the  distribution  of  alms,  was  as  cruel 
as  it  was  ridiculous. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  387 

Turks  within  the  lifetime  of  this  present  generation.  This  faith  I  most 
firmly  hold.  And  your  Highnesses  ought  not  to  take  offence-  at  this  ; 
for  this  belief  of  mine  does  no  harm  cither  to  me  or  to  the  city  ;  and  in 
such  matters  every  one  is  free  to  believe  what  seems  good  to  him.  Nor 
do  I  trouble  myself  about  the  question  how  these  things  have  been  made 
manifest  by  God  ;  nor  have  I  ever  deluded  the  people  by  preaching  about 
them,  because  I  have  firmly  and  sincerely  believed  these  things,  and  have 
spoken  of  them  solely  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  your  city,  and 
not  from  any  motive  of  vain-glory  or  human  respect. 

*'  It  happened  once  that  the  guardian  angels  of  us  three  appeared  to 
Fra  Sylvestro,  and  with  a  rope  or  chain  of  gold  bound  us  all  together, 
saying  that  we  must  remain  united,  and  that  we  must  have  but  one  heart 
and  soul,  for  that  God  so  willed.  Wherefore,  if  ever  any  small  matter  of 
dissension  arose  among  us,  we  were  reprehended  by  these  angels.  And 
they  told  Fra  Sylvestro  to  keep  himself  huml)le,  and  us  likewise,  for  that 
prophecies  and  revelations  do  not  save  the  soul,  but  are  given  for  the  good 
of  the  Church,  and  that  his  revelations  in  particular  were  given  him  not 
for  his  own  sake  but  for  that  of  Fra  Hieronymo.  Moreover,  they  (the 
angels)  wished  that  when  I  was  preaching  in  place  of  Fra  Hieronymo  (on 
account  of  which  employment  people  used  to  call  me  Fra  Fattoraccio— 
Brother  Factotum)  I  should  occasionally  set  forth  some  revelation  of  his 
or  Fra  Sylvestro's  as  if  it  had  been  my  own.  And  in  like  manner, 
seeing  that  we  had  but  one  heart,  when  Fra  Sylvestro  recei\ed  some 
revelation  for  the  sake  of  Fra  Hieronymo,  the  latter  would  put  it  forth  as 
his  own,  such  being  the  will  of  God.  And,  in  so  doing,  he  uttered  no 
falseh9od  (i),  because  God  has  done  the  same  thing  in  other  cases,  as 
may  be  learned  from  H.  Scripture  ;  (2)  because  they  had  but  one  heart ; 
(3)  because  the  revelations  were  given  for  this  end  (erano  ordinate  alia 
predica  et  a  lui) ;  and  (4)  because  the  prophetic  'light'  concerning  these 
and  other  things  was  impressed  on  the  mind  of  Fra  Hieronymo.  For  m 
such  matters  the  'light'  is  like  the  sense  of  touch.  But  the  aforesaid 
angels  warned  us  that  we  should  keep  these  matters  secret  among  our- 
selves, and  should  by  no  means  reveal  them  to  any  one  else,  for  if  we 
should  do  so  God  would  be  angry  with  us.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these 
divine  favours,  we  were  most  unwilling  to  speak  of  things  to  come,  and 
most  careful  not  to  go  beyond  what  we  were  e.xplicitly  commanded  to 
make  known.  And  if,  as  very  rarely  happened,  any  one  of  us  in  some 
particular  went  beyond  our  commission  in  such  matters,  we  were  severely 
reproved  and  punished. 

"  I  have  never  professed,  nor  do  I  now  profess,  to  have  had  any 
prophetic  revelation  or  vision,  except  that  once  I  related  a  certain  vision 
[d.-scribed  in  some  detail]  as  having  been  seen  by  myself,  which  had  in 
fact  been  communicated  to  me  by  Fra  Sylvestro,  and  which  he  com- 
missioned me,  on  the  part  of  the  angels,  to  declare  that  I  had  myself 
seen.  And  this  was  no  falsehood,  for  we  had  but  one  heart,  and  in 
making  the  declaration  I  did  but  obey  God."  ^ 

'  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  ccvii  sqq. 


388  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Again  he  writes,  a  little  later  : — 

"  I  never  had  the  smallest  reason  to  suspect  that  Fra  Hieronymo  was 
deluding  the  people,  or  acting  otherwise  than  sincerely.  On  the  contrary, 
he  appeared  to  me  to  be  most  upright  in  his  intentions,  and  a  man  of 
singular  virtue.  As  for  me,  I  regarded  him  with  the  utmost  reverence, 
and  obeyed  him  in  all  simplicity.  ...  I  know  that  he,  as  a  consequence 
of  his  revelations,  had  determined  to  write  to  certain  princes  that  this 
Pope  is  Jiot  a  Christian  nor  a  true  Pope,  and  this  '  key '  I  believed  that 
he  would  one  day  turn."  ^ 

Fra  Salvestro  Maruffi  deposed,  in  substance,  as  follows  : — 

"  From  my  childhood  I  had  a  habit  of  talking  in  my  sleep,  repeating 
things  which  I  knew  by  heart.  I  became  a  friar  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 
Sometimes  I  would  recite  a  whole  Epistle  of  S.  Paul,  and  once,  at 
Venice,  I  repeated  the  whole  of  a  sermon  in  the  German  language. 

"  Fra  Hieronimo  {sic)  began  to  preach  at  S.  Marco  in  1490,  expounding 
the  Apocalypse  (Epochalipse,  sic),  and  afterwards  he  preached  at 
S.  Maria  del  Fiore  (the  Duomo)  where  he  foretold  the  renovation  of  the 
Church,  and  spoke  on  his  other  favourite  topics.  I  was  preaching  at 
San  Gimignano,  and  on  hearing  of  these  prophecies  was  greatly  dis- 
pleased, and,  although  I  defended  him  before  others,  I  did  not  do  so  from 
my  heart,  and  Fra  Malatesta  would  testify  that  on  my  return  from 
San  Gimignano  I  did  not  believe  in  him,  and  thought  him  deluded. 
Indeed,  I  told  him  that  he  seemed  to  me  to  be  mad  and  beside  himself; 
especially  as  I  had  known  him  to  be  averse  to  such  things.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  good  grounds  for  what  he  said,  and  exhorted  me  to  pray  to 
Messer  Dominedio  that  He  would  inspire  me  to  believe  the  truth.  I  did 
so,  and  whether  from  my  tendency  to  dreams,  or  by  diabolical  illusion,  I 
felt  myself  reproved  by  '  the  spirits '  for  not  believing,  and  on  my  relating 
the  matter  to  him  he  answered  that  God  wished  me  well.  In  particular, 
he  told  me  that  he  had  a  sign  from  God  whereby  he  knew  when  the 
things  which  he  foretold  were  true,  viz.  that  he  felt  the  cross  and  the 
name  of  Jesus  impressed  (scolpito)  on  his  bosom. 

"  And  I  often  related  my  dreams  to  him  ;  and  he  said  that  having 
prayed  about  the  matter,  he  had  received  an  assurance  that  these 
experiences  of  mine  (queste  cose  nostre)  were  truths  and  not  dreams. 
And  so  for  the  great  reverence  and  faith  which  I  entertained  in  his 
regard  I  began  to  believe  him  absolutely  ;  and  yet  I  often  had  my 
doubts.  He,  however,  always  told  me  to  take  his  word  for  it  that  the 
things  were  from  God.  And  so  things  went  on  till  about  a  month  ago  ; 
sometimes  I  believed  and  sometimes  I  doubted,  but  now  I  believe 
absolutely  that  it  was  a  delusion.  Once  I  had  a  certain  vision  of  good 
spirits  and  bad  which  I  communicated  to  Fra  Domenico,  and  thereafter  he, 
preaching  in  the  Palazzo,  gave  out,  as  I  was  told,  that  he  had  seen  the 
vision.     Another  vision  I  had  during  the  night  before  the  ordeal,"  etc.'* 

*  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  ccxvi  sqij.  ^  Ibid.,  pp.  ccxx  scjq. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  3^9 

"It  happened  that  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  times  Fra  Girolamo 
came  to  me,  and  told  me  that  he  did  not  know  what  to  preach  about, 
and  begged  me  to  pray  for  him,  as  he  feared  that  God  had  abandoned 
him.  Then  he  would  make  his  confession,  and  after  all  would  preach  a 
beautiful  sermon."  * 

In  connection  with  the  above,  a  few  words  from  the  testimony 
of  Fra  Ruberto  Ubaldini  may  here  be  given,  which  ser\'e  to 
throw  light  on  the  internal  condition  of  the  convent,  and  on  the 
general  conduct  of  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  principal  companions  : — 

"Some  years  since,  I  was  sent  to  Rome  about  the  affair  of  the 
separation  of  S.  Marco  from  the  Lombard  convents,  with  letters  from 
the  Father  General,  and  from  the  Cardinal  de'  Medici,  and  others,  in 
support  of  our  cause.  And  when,  after  some  delay,  we  had  carried  our 
point,  Fra  Hieronymo  assured  us  that  this  affair  was  the  means  whereby 
God  deigned  to  reform  our  Order,  and  to  do  great  things  ;  and  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  would  be  poured  upon  us  in  such  abundance  that  we  should 
be  astounded  ;  and  that  this  was  to  be  a  most  perfect  Congregation,  so 
that  members  of  all  religious  Orders  would  flock  to  us,  as  well  as  seculars 
of  great  credit  and  of  great  ability,  and  that  this  was  to  be  the  most 
perfect  of  all  religious  congregations.  Now  to  me  it  did  not  seem  that 
the  results  corresponded  to  such  promises  as  these  after  the  fashion 
which  I  had  imagined.  It  is  true  that  herein  I  was  somewhat  indiscreet, 
for,  as  a  result  of  excessive  austerities,  many  of  the  brethren  were  taken 
ill,  and  accordingly  it  was  found  necessary  to  admit  some  mitigation 
of  these  rigours,  for  the  sake,  especially,  of  the  young.  Yet  I  could  not 
but  see  that  it  was  a  cause  of  scandal  that  there  should  be  three  great 
personages  ('  gran  maestri ' — Fra  Girolamo's  favourite  term  of  reproach) 
in  the  house,  who  usurped  all  authority,  and  claimed  for  themselves 
every  kind  of  liberty  and  exemption,  and  practised  none  of  that  subjec- 
tion which  their  profession  required.  It  was  evident  that  everything 
was  settled  among  these  three,  with  the  occasional  assistance  of  Fra 
Antonio  da  Holandia  ('che  h  padre  di  religiosa  vita');  and  that  the 
business  of  all  the  rest  of  the  community  was  to  assent  to  whatever  was 
done  or  determined  by  these  three.-  Seeing  this,  I  could  not  but  regret 
and  murmur  at  it;  and  I  even  complained  to  Fra  Hieronymo,  calling 
this  mode  of  government  a  tyranny.  Moreover,  I  talked  about  these 
matters  with  certain  others  of  the  brethren  who  suffered  under  the  same 


1  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  ccxxxi.  Salvestro's  deposition  concludes  with  the 
words:  "  Finalmente  dico  che  Fra  Girolamo  v'  ha  ingannato."  We  can  have 
little  hesitation  in  ascribing  tliem,  with  Villari,  to  Ser  Ceccone.  "  Le  parole 
che  precodono,"  he  says,  "  valgono  invece  a  dimostrare  la  buona  fede  e  sincerita 
di  Savonarola"  {/oc.  cit.,  tiott  3). 

'•^  It  is,  perhaps,  worthy  of  note,  that  the  pcistm  named  by  Savonarola  himself 
and  other  witnesses  as  having  been  most  in  his  confidence,  at  least  towards  the 
end,  was  not  Fra  Antonio  di  Holandia,  but  Fra  Miccolo  da  Milano. 


390  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

temptation  as  myself,  and  especially  with  a  certain  Fra  Antonio  da  Radda. 
For  this  reason  we  were  always  held  in  subjection,  and  lost  all  credit 
and  reputation  in  the  community,  for  which  I  thank  God,  for  this  turned 
out  to  be  for  the  good  of  my  soul.  Fra  Hieronymo,  with  great  tact, 
meekness,  and  humility,  reasoned  with  me  on  the  subject,  and  in  the  end 
persuaded  me  ;  for,  seeing  as  I  did,  so  much  virtue  and  union  of  hearts, 
and  such  virtue  in  the  community,  I  conceived  a  scruple  that  I  might 
hinder  the  work  of  God  if  I  did  not  keep  quiet  ;  and  Fra  Hieronymo 
likewise  appealed  to  my  conscience  by  telling  me  that  I  had  in  many 
particulars  resisted  the  will  of  God  as  declared  by  him,  whereupon  I 
humbled  myself  and  begged  his  forgiveness.  Nevertheless,  these  same 
doubts  continued  to  haunt  me,  especially  when  I  saw  Fra  Silvestro 
spending  the  whole  day  in  the  cloisters,  surrounded  by  a  group  of 
citizens,  gossiping  with  them  (con  circuli  di  cittadini  a  torno  et 
chiachiere).  This  I  could  not  approve,  and  accordingly  I  once  more 
grew  discontented,  and  grumbled  about  the  matter  with  various  members 
of  the  community.  However,  in  the  end,  there  was  no  remedy  but 
patience.  As  for  Fra  Domenico,  I  believe  him  to  be  a  man  of  perfect 
integrity,  but  of  considerable  obstinacy  (di  buona  puritk  ma  di  dura 
cervice),  and  too  ready  to  believe  in  the  revelations  and  dreams  of 
women  and  of  weak-minded  and  foolish  persons.  And  if  any  one  of  us 
did  not  believe  these  things  his  life  was  made  a  burden  to  him  (chi  non  li 
credeva  era  tra  noi  in  continuo  martyrio).  It  was  very  seldom  that 
these  three  joined  the  rest  in  community  duties,  because  they  were 
continually  occupied  in  these  affairs  of  their  own,  and  all  this  was  to  me 
very  disedifying."  ^ 

Ubaldini  further  relates  how,  at  an  earlier  date,  he  had  acted  as 
private  secretary  to  Fra  Girolamo,  helping  him  to  write,  or  copying 
for  him,  the  tract  De  Siniplicitaie,  "  et  tucte  le  altre  sue  opere," 
and  likewise  his  letters,  but  only  those  of  less  importance.  In  those 
"  primi  tempi "  he  accompanied  his  superior  to  Pisa,  Lucca, 
Pistoia,  and  Prato,  when  he  went  there  to  preach  ("innamorato 
della  sua  doctrina  et  optimi  et  honesti  costumi ").  During  the  last 
two  or  three  years,  however,  a  coolness  had  sprung  up  between 
them,  and  his  place  was  taken  by  Fra  Niccolo  da  Milano.  Fra 
Baldassare  Bonsi  and  Fra  Francesco  de'  Medici  also  acted  as 
his  personal  attendants  ("et  io  stavo  al  mio  studio  et  a  mia 
devotione  ").- 

II.  The  Letters  to  Foreign  Princes. — A  single  sentence  on  this 
subject    has    already    been    quoted    from    the   deposition    of    Fra 

*  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  cclvii  sq(/. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  cclvii. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS 


391 


Domenico,  but  it  only  reveals  the  circumstance  that  Domenico 
was  aware  of  his  superior's  intention  to  write  such  letters,  and 
tells  us  nothing  of  any  steps  actually  taken.  Francesco  del 
Pugliese,  it  appears,  was  also  questioned  on  the  same  topic,  but 
his  replies  to  the  interrogatory  have  not  been  preserved.  It  was 
he  whom  Savonarola  had  charged  to  write,  or  cause  to  be  written, 
a  letter  to  some  influential  person  in  England  with  a  view  to 
enlisting  the  zeal  of  Henry  VII.  on  behalf  of  the  project  of  a 
Council.! 

The  testimony  of  Domenico  Mazzinghi,  however,  is  set  down 
at  some  length,  and  it  entirely  confirms  the  accuracy  of  the  report 
of  Fra  Girolamo's  deposition  so  far  as  it  concerns  this  matter.  It 
is  right,  however,  to  observe  that  this,  as  appears  from  the  form 
of  the  document,  is  not  an  autograph  deposition  ;  and  the  same 
remark  applies  to  that  of  Simone  del  Nero,  to  be  presently 
quoted. 

"  Domenico  Mazzinghi,  being  interrogated  by  word  of  mouth  as  to 
how  he  contrived  to  send  the  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Giovacchino 
(Guasconi)  on  the  affair  of  the  Council,  made  answer  to  this  effect : — 

"Toward  the  end  of  last  March  Fra  Girolamo  sent  for  me  and  said 
to  me  :  '  I  want  you  to  do  something  for  me.  I  know  that  you  are 
zealous  for  the  work  of  God,  and  I  want  you  to  write  a  letter  to 
Giovacchino,  of  which  I  will  give  you  a  draft,  and  also  to  enclose  a  copy 
of  a  letter  which  I  have  written  to  the  Pope.'  I  repHed  that  I  was 
willing  to  do  whatever  he  wished  ...  for  the  honour  of  God.  Next  day 
Fra  Nicholo  da  Milano  gave  me  the  draft,  with  a  copy  of  the  letter  to 
the  Pope.  Then  I  wrote  the  letter  with  my  own  hand,  and  beyond  what 
was  contained  in  the  aforesaid  draft,  I  added,  on  my  own  account,  that 
on  the  day  of  the  Carnival  more  than  3000  had  confessed  and  com- 
municated, while  the  rest  gave  themselves  up  to  dissipation.  And  so  I 
sent  the  letter  to  Giovacchino.  Besides  this,  I  wrote  another  letter  which 
accompanied  the  first,  wherein  I  described  the  manner  of  life  of  Fra 
Girolamo,  and  the  fruitful  results  of  his  zeal,  and  how  on  his  account  the 
city  was  divided,  and  that  he  had  need  of  God's  help  ;  and  I  added  that 
he  was  to  take  a  suitable  occasion  to  show  the  first  letter  to  the  King  of 
France. 

"Giovacchino  replied  to  the  effect  that  he  was  pleased  with  my  com- 
munication, but  that  he  could  not  show  it  to  the  King  because  the  King 
was  dead.     This  reply  of  his  I  have  not  shown  to  any  one."'- 

*  *' Quella  (lettera)  Dinghillerra  («V)  fu  commessa  a  Francesco  del  pugliese: 
il  quale  aveva  in  Firenzc  uno  auiico  suo  inghilese,"  etc.  (Process  of  Fra  Girolamo, 
Villari,  loc.  cit.,  p.  clx.xi). 

Process  of  Fra  Girolamo,  Viliari,  /oc.  cii.,  pp.  cclxii  Sijij. 


392  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

As  Mazzinghi's  letter  to  Guasconi  has  been  preserved,  this  has 
seemed  the  most  convenient  place  in  which  to  give  a  summary 
of  its  contents. 

Domenico  Mazzinghi  to  Giovacchino  Guasconi.'— You  will  have  heard 
of  the   persecutions   which   have   been   raised   against  our  father,    Fra 
Hieronymo  da  Ferrara,  especially  at  Rome,  by  reason  of  his  having  laid 
bare  the  vices  of  the  clergy,  which  are  an  abomination  to  God  and  the 
world.    Wherefore  the  Pope  has  excommunicated  him,  and  has  threatened 
our  city  with  an  interdict,  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  preaching.     To 
this  he  has  been  instigated  chiefly  by  certain  abandoned  men  in  the  city  ; 
whereas  all  good  men  and  lovers  of  the  truth  esteem  this  man  most 
highly  ;  and  it  is  wonderful  to  see  how  great  is  the  fervour  which  he  has 
aroused,  especially  by  his  predictions  of  the  renovation  of  the  Church, 
and  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  by  the  terrible  threats  which 
he  has  uttered  about  scourges  which  are  to  fall  on  all  Italy,  and  especially 
on  Rome,  for  its  intolerable  wickedness,  etc.     Now,  this  servant  of  God, 
undeterred  by  the  fulminations  of  the  Pope,  has  written  him  a  very  severe 
letter  (una  lettera  molto  rigida),  as  you  may  see  by  the  enclosed  copy, 
which  I  send  you  in  order  that  you  may  show  it  to  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty   (alia   Maestk   di  cotesto  Crystianissimo   Sire).      Moreover,  he 
proclaims  that  he  is  about  to   make   known  certain  things  which  will 
astound  the  whole  world— things  which  he  will  prove,  not  merely  by 
human  reason,  but  by  divine  miracles.     Great,  indeed,  are  these  matters, 
and  well  calculated  to  inflame  every  uozen  heart  (da  fare  rescaldare  ongni 
adiacciato  pecto),  especially  when  we  see  the  condition  to   which  the 
Church  has  been  brought.     And  yet  it  seems  that  no  one  takes  any 
practical  steps  to  remedy  this  state  of  things  by  procuring  the  Council 
which  is  needed  (li  debiti  Concilii),  as  used  to  be  done.     To  this  the 
most  Christian  king  might  and  ought  to  set  his  hand,  for  he  will  have 
to  render  to  God  a  severe  account  of  his  negligence  in  the  matter.     To 
procure  this  would  be  a  much  greater  thing  than  to  conquer  all  the 
infidels  ;  for  if  the  foundation  should  fail,  the  faith  of  Christ  will  be 
brought  to  ruin.     May  God  inspire  his  Majesty,  and  others  who  have  the 
power,  not  to  allow  the  most  precious  Blood  of  Christ  to  be  thus  insulted, 
for,  to  tell  the  truth,  it   is  more  shamefully  handled  by  these  wicked 
prelates  and  priests  than  it  would  be  by  Jews  and  Moors.      For  they  at 
least  believe  something,  but  these  men  show  by  their  deeds  that  they 
believe  nothing  at  all.     If  any  one  would  be  satisfied  of  this,  let  him  go 
to  Rome,  and  there  see  the  wickedness  that  is  carried  on,  no  longer  in 
secret,  but  openly  and  publicly  ("  che  sotto  el  ciel  non  si  potria  pensare  le 
magiori  scelleragine  ")•     I  feel  sure  that  this  servant  of  God  is  meditating 
some  great  thing  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  His  Majesty  is  one  of  the  first  to 
whom  he  will  make  it  known,  because,  as  he  has  so  often  told  him,  he 
(the  king)  is  the  chosen  minister  of  God,  etc.,  etc. 

1  Process  of  Fra  Girolamo,  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  p.  Ixix.     The  letter  is  undated. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  393 

This  letter  reached  its  destination,  as  the  writer  declares  in  his 
deposition,  a  few  days  after  the  death  of  Charles  VIII.  Guasconi's 
reply  we  must  perforce  omit.^  It  is,  indeed,  of  merely  personal 
interest. 

The  deposition  of  Simone  del  Nero  closely  resembles  that  of 
Mazzinghi : — 

"  On  24th  March,  Giovanni  Spina  came  to  me  in  my  house  and  said 
that  Fra  Girolamo  wished  to  see  and  speak  with  me.  I  went  at  once  to 
S.  Marco,  and  there,  in  the  infirmary,  I  found  Fra  Girolamo  with  the 
ambassador  of  Ferrara.  Turning  aside  from  the  envoy,  he  said  to  me  : 
*  You  know  that  I  have  preached  the  renovation  of  the  Church  and  the 
conversion  of  the  infidels  ;  it  is  God's  will  that  this  work  should  go 
forward.  I  want  you  to  write  a  letter  to  your  brother  Nicholo,  your 
agent  in  Spain,  of  which  I  will  give  you  a  draft  ;  md  it  must  be  so 
written  that  it  can  be  shown.  I  will  also  give  you  a  copy  of  a  letter 
which  I  have  written  to  the  Pope,  which  you  must  send  along  with  your 
own.'  I  said  :  '  Nicholo  won't  be  there,  for  some  months  ago  I  gave 
him  permission  to  leave  (gli  mandai  la  licentia).  Moreover,  he  has  written 
to  me  that  those  sovereigns  (Ferdinand  and  Isabella)  are  lully  occupied 
with  the  African  expedition.'  Fra  Girolamo  replied  :  '  They  must  first 
attend  to  this  affair.'  In  the  end  I  promised  to  write  .  .  .  and  so  I  took 
my  leave.  In  the  evening  Fra  Girolamo  sent  me,  by  a  friar  whom  I  did 
not  know,  the  draft  of  which  he  had  spoken,  with  a  copy  of  the  letter  to 
the  Pope.  I  made  two  copies  of  them,  and  sent  them  by  different  ways 
to  Nicholo.  This  matter  I  never  revealed  to  any  one,  for  Fra  Girolamo 
had  communicated  it  to  me  in  confession."  ^ 

Del  Nero's  letter  to  his  brother  has  also  come  down  to  us,  and 
has  been  published  by  Villari.^  It  is  almost  entirely  similar  to  that 
of  Mazzinghi,  given  above.  The  only  points  of  difference  are  that 
it  is  rather  shorter,  the  passage  about  the  chosen  servant  of  God 
being  omitted,  and  that  the  writer  asserts  more  explicitly  than 
Mazzinghi  that  "the  Father  aforesaid"  has  been  "inspired  by  God" 
to  write  to  the  princes  of  Christendom. 

III.  Political  Ifiirignes. — Of  far  less  real  importance  than  the 
question  of  the  efforts  made  to  secure  the  convocation  of  a  Council 
was  the  charge  that  Savonarola  and  his  brethren  had  habitually 
engaged  in  intrigues  connected  with  secular  and  local  politics.  On 
this  point  it  must  be  admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  replies  of  the 

'  It  is  given  by  Villari,  loc.  ciL,  pp.  ccl.Kiv. 
-  Jbid.,  pp.  cclxxii.     .S^d  above,  p.  325. 
■*  Ibid.,  p.  Ixviii. 


394  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

witnesses  are  such  as  completely  to  clear  the  community  as  a  whole, 
and  Fra  Girolamo  in  particular,  from  the  imputation  of  having  done 
anything  seriously  blameworthy.  One  after  another  the  deponents 
declare  that  they  know  nothing  of  any  "pratiche,"  or  "  intelligentie," 
or  "  inbasciate  "  of  a  political  nature,  on  the  part  of  the  inmates  of 
the  convent,  with  the  sole  exception,  as  will  be  seen,  of  Fra 
Salvestro.  For  the  most  part,  they  emphatically  declare  that  they 
frequented  S.  Marco  solely  for  religious  purposes.  For  instance, 
Piero  Cinozzi,  the  father  or  uncle  of  that  Fra  Placido  Cinozzi  to 
whose  brief  record  of  Savonarola's  career  we  have  so  often  had 
occasion  to  refer,  deposes  as  follows  : — 

"As  every  one  knows,  I  have  a  son  at  S.  Marco,  and  I  have  none 
other,  and  he  is  my  only  treasure  (tutto  el  mio  bene),  and  likewise  two 
cousins  and  a  nephew  ;  and  whenever  I  could  do  so,  I  spent  my  time 
there,  and  I  had  a  (private)  key.  And  when  there  was  any  business  to 
be  done  for  the  convent  I  used  to  do  it,  and  I  knew  all  the  brethren. 
And  when  I  had  said  my  office,  which  it  was  my  delight  to  do  (detto 
ched  io  avevo  el  mio  officio,  la  mia  gioia),  I  used  to  spend  part  of  my 
time  in  the  convent  garden  with  a  lay-brother  (chon  uno  chomverso,  sic) 
called  Fra  Pellegrino,  conversing  with  him  ;  and  I  used  also  frequently 
to  talk  with  Fra  Girolamo  himself  about  divine  things  (e  anchora  favellavo 
chon  Frate  Girolamo  ispeso  delle  cose  di  messere  Dofninedio)  ;  and  never 
did  I  speak  with  him  about  the  election  of  magistrates,  or  other  political 
matters  (mai  parlai  chollui  di  dare  officio,  o  di  intelligienza).  In  fact, 
when  I  went  to  the  convent  on  the  day  on  which  the  Signory  was  to  be 
chosen,  he  would  not  allow  me  to  enter  (non  vole  ched  io  emtrassi 
demtro,  sic),  sending  word  to  me  that  he  did  not  wish  people  to  be  able 
to  say  that  any  kind  of  political  negotiations  were  being  carried  on  there 
(che  chola  si  faciessi  intelligienza).  I  was  present  at  many  processions 
and  devotions,  especially  at  one  which  was  held  on  7th  January  1497 
{i.e.  1498),  which  lasted  from  about  one  o'clock  till  seven  {i.e.  from  about 
7  P.M.  till  midnight,  reckoning,  after  the  Italian  fashion,  from  sunset). 
And  on  this,  and  on  every  other  occasion  on  which  I  have  visited 
S.  Marco,  I  never  saw  nor  do  I  know  of  anything  but  what  was  good  ; 
and  you  will  never  get  any  other  answer  from  me  but  this,  which  is  the 
truth."  1 

More  explicitly  he  says  that,  being  consulted  by  his  cousin 
Girolamo  Cinozzi,  as  to  the  candidates  for  whom  it  would  be  well 
to  vote  in  the  election  of  the  Signory,  the  only  reply  he  made  was, 
"Godwin  inspire  you."     The  answer  shows  how  extremely  careful 

*  "  E  in  questo  sie  e  inn  ongni  allra  chosa  ched  io  mi  sono  trovato,  in  San 
Marco,  non  bt  veduto  ne  ne  so  se  none  tutto  bene  ;  e  mai  si  troverra  chom  verita  di 
me,  altro"  (p.  ccxxxviii).  The  above  paragraph  bears  the  heading:  "Sopra  la 
praticha  avevo  in  Sammarcho." 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  305 

it  was  necessary  to  be  in  order  to  avoid  all  susjiicion  of  poliiical 
machinations,  and  how  dangerous  a  form  of  industry  wire-pulling 
was  felt  to  be  at  Florence  in  those  days.  But  it  also  shows  how 
thoroughly  the  lessons  inculcated  by  Savonarola  had  been  imbibed 
by  his  more  faithful  disciples.  In  the  sermons  which  he  delivered 
in  1494  and  1495,  while  the  Florentine  constitution  was  in  process 
of  formation,  he  had  strenuously  protested  against  every  form  of 
canvassing  in  view  of  the  elections,  had  insisted  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  electors  to  choose  their  candidate  on  strictly  conscientious 
principles,  and  had  advised  the  electors  when,  for  want  of  know- 
ledge of  affairs,  they  were  unable  to  arrive  at  any  decision  in  their 
own  minds,  to  cast  lots,  after  prayer,  for  the  name  of  him  for 
whom  they  would  vote.  An  election  so  made  he  assured  them, 
would  have  the  blessing  of  God,  and  would  even  deserve  to  be 
regarded  as  the  election  of  God  Himself.^  And  it  is,  perhaps,  in 
this  sense  that  we  are  to  understand  his  strange  assertion  that,  in 
certain  contingencies,  white  beans  would  be  by  divine  agency 
changed  into  black  for  the  carrying  out  of  God's  holy  will.  Nor 
is  there  any  reason  whatever  to  doubt  the  assertion  made  in  his  own 
deposition,  and  assuredly  not  interpolated  by  the  notary,  that,  as  far 
as  possible,  he  refrained  from  forming  acquaintances  among  the 
politicians  of  the  city,  of  whose  very  names  he  was,  in  many  cases, 
completely  ignorant. 

Unfortunately,  Fra  Salvestro  did  not  share  his  superior's  prudence 
in  this  regard,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  notwithstanding  all 
Fra  Girolamo's  warnings,  he  played  the  part  of  a  busybody,  and 
became  the  centre  of  a  good  deal  of  political  gossip.  The  only 
conclusion  which  can  be  drawn  from  the  whole  body  of  evidence 
would  seem  to  be  that  while  the  lobbying  of  Fra  Salvestro  did  no 
serious  harm  to  any  one  but  himself,  his  brethren,  and  his  friends,  it 
did  succeed  in  bringing  upon  the  convent  and  its  frequenters  just 
those  suspicions  which  Savonarola  was  most  desirous  to  avoid.  And 
it  is  painful  to  find  that  on  occasion  of  the  trial  Salvestro  appears  to 
have  accused  at  least  one  of  the  victims  of  his  own  indiscretion.  The 
very  last  item  in  the  evidence  of  Piero  Cinozzi,  an  item  not  in  his 
own  handwriting,  is  to  the  following  effect : — 

Item,  on  27th  .^pril,  149S,  at  the  Bargello,  under  [the  torture  of]  the 
stanyhetla  {i.e.  the  Iwot)  - 

The  said  Piero,  beinu  asain  interrogated  on  sundry  points,  confessed 


'  Villari  and  Casanova,  Scelta,  p.  208. 


396  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

that  he  had  said  to  Fra  Salvestro  that  he  would  not  vote  for  any  one  who 
did  not  beheve  in  the  Friar.  And  this  he  confessed  in  presence  of  Fra 
Salvestro,  ivho  declared  that  he  had  said  it  several  times.  And  he  (Piero) 
said  :  "  I  do  not  remember  it,  but  be  it  so  (io  non  mia  ne  ricordo,  ma  sia 
decto)." ' 

It  only  remains,  so  far  as  this  point  is  concerned,  to  give  seriatim 
the  shreds  of  evidence  on  which  the  conclusions  above  stated  are 
based. 

Lionello  Boni  said  : — 

"  As  for  political  intrigues  (intelligienza)  I  assure  you  that  I  took  no 
part  in  anything  of  the  kind  ;  and  when  the  magistrates  were  to  be  elected, 
the  course  which  I  followed  was  to  pray  to  God  that  He  would  inspire  me 
so  that  I  might  know  for  whom  to  vote.  As  for  my  dealings  with  S. 
Marco,  I  used  to  go  in  the  morning  to  Mass,  and  when  the  sei-vice  (I'uficio, 
presumably  None)  was  over  I  used  to  go  home.  Then  I  would  return 
to  Vespers,  and  when  I  had  finished  my  office  I  went  away  '  a  mia 
chonsolazione.'  This  was  on  feast  days  {i.e.  Sundays  and  holidays)  ;  on 
work  days  I  stayed  in  my  shop.  ...  I  repeat  that  I  held  no  dealings 
with  Fra  Girolamo,  because,  as  I  have  already  said,  after  service  I  went 
away  to  my  own  affairs  (a  fare  e'  fatti  mia).  Of  letters,  messages,  or 
commissions  (inbasciate)  I  know  nothing."  ^ 

Francesco  Davanzati  deposed  that : — 

When  elections  were  pending  he  used  sometimes  to  converse  with 
F.  S.  {i.e.  Fra  Salvestro),  F.  B.  Cavalcanti,  and  others,  as  to  who  would 
be  suitable  candidates.  And  sometimes  they  would  fix  upon  a  name,  as 
for  instance  that  of  Filippo  Buondelmonte,  when  he  was  made  Gonfaloniere. 
But  for  the  most  part,  Ruberto  Ridolfi  and  he  himself  said  no  more  than 
this  :  "  May  God  of  His  grace  give  us  a  good  Signory,"  or  a  good  Board 
of  Eight,  and  this  was  said  with  a  purely  patriotic  motive.  "  As  for  reveal- 
ing the  names  of  the  newly-elected  Signori  before  they  had  been  published, 
of  this  [he  says]  I  know  nothing.  But  I  remember  that  when  I  was  myself 
elected,  the  fact  of  my  election  was  made  known  to  me  the  evening  before 
the  public  promulgation.  And  in  the  morning  I  went  to  Mass,  and  I 
found  Fra  Salvestro,  and  I  told  him  that  I  expected  to  be  one  of  the 
Signori,  and  asked  his  prayers.  Then  he  took  me  to  Fra  Girolamo,  and 
I  said  the  same  to  him.  And  this  was  the  first  time  I  ever  spoke  to  him, 
and  I  wish  to  God  I  had  never  known  him."  .  .  ? 

^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  cxxxix.  Here  we  have,  of  course,  the  hand  of  the 
notary.  But  it  would  seem  that  here,  at  least,  he  is  recording  an  avowal  which 
was  actually  extorted  ;  for,  had  he  wished  to  lie,  he  might  easily  have  put  into 
Cinozzi's  mouth  a  more  compromising  admission. 

'■^  Ibid.,  pp.  ccxliii  sqq. 

*  "  E  Die  '1  volesi  ch'  io  noUo  avesi  mai  chonociuto"  (p.  ccxlviii).  It  is  just 
possible  that  the  words  may  mean,  "I  wish  I  had  never  known  it"  viz.  the 
act  of  his  election  as  made  known  to  him  before  the  proper  time. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  397 

Later,  27th  April,  he  admits  that  in  voting  he  showed  some 
favcHir  to  "quelU  del  I'lalc."  ' 

Fra  Ruberlo  Ubaldini  da  Gagliano  writes  : — 

"  For  what  concerns  confessions,  I  have  acted  with  all  simplicity  (sono 
ito  puramente),  treating  therein  of  nothing  but  what  appertained  to  matters 
of  conscience.  Neither  did  any  one  on  such  occasions  seek  to  draw  me 
into  political  discussions,  nor  would  I  have  suffered  them  to  do  so.  One 
morning  Giovanni  Minerbetti,  having  heard  a  sermon  of  Fra  Girolamo's, 
in  which  the  preacher  had  spoken  of  a  plot  to  establish  a  despotism  in 
the  city,  asked  me  what  grounds  there  were  for  such  an  apprehension.  .  .  . 
I  told  him  that  I  had  heard  FriL  Girolamo  say  that  he  did  not  believe  such 
machinations  would  succeed.  .  .  .  Whereby  he  was  reassured  and  com- 
forted. And  on  another  occasion,  some  time  ago,  Andrea  Larioni  wished 
to  speak  with  Fra  Girolamo,  and,  as  he  could  not  see  him,  charged  me  to 
ask  him  whether  Piero  Capponi  was  ill-disposed  towards  the  Consiglio 
...  for  that  he  and  others  had  been  asked  by  him  to  do  certain  things  of 
which  they  dreaded  the  issue.  Fra  Girolamo  answered  that  he  knew 
nothing  against  Capponi,  but  much  in  his  favour  ;  but  that  Larioni  ought 
to  proceed  cautiously,  and  to  consider  whether  what  he  was  asked  to  do 
were  good  or  evil  .  .  .  and  to  act  accordingly.  This  I  repeated  to  him. 
As  for  other  '  pratiche '  I  remember  none.  .  .  .  And  whereas  I  was 
constantly  in  Fra  Girolamo's  company,  I  never  saw  any  signs  of  his 
engaging  in  political  intrigues,  nor  do  I  believe  that  he  took  part  in 
anything  of  the  kind. 

"  And  in  fact  Fra  Girolamo  knew  the  names  of  but  few  of  the  citizens, 
and  had  but  little  personal  acquaintance  with  them.  But  it  was  Fra 
Silvestro  who  had  always  a  group  of  tJiem  about  him,  whether  in  his  cell 
(plena  la  cella)  or  in  the  cloister  or  in  the  garden,  a  circumstance  which 
greatly  annoyed  the  rest  of  us."  [Here  follows  a  long  list  of  names  of 
those  with  whom  Salvestro  habitually  conversed.]- 

In  the  deposition  of  Domenico  Mazzinghi  we  read : — 
"  As  for  showing  favour  to  one  rather  than  to  another  in  the  elections 
I  never  troubled  myself  about  such  matters.  It  is  true  that  sometimes 
when  the  Gonfaloniere  di  Guistizia  was  to  be  appointed,  Fra  Salvestro  and 
I,  with  occasionally  another  friend  or  two,  used  to  say  :  '  So-and-so  would 
be  a  good  man.'  But  who  they  were  among  whom  such  things  were  said 
I  do  not  now  remember.  Nor  do  I  remember  that  Fra  Girolamo  ever 
recommended  to  me  any  persons  who  desired  to  be  employed  in  military 
service,  except  in  the  case  of  one  man,  a  native  of  Ferrara  ;  and  in  this 
case  no  more  was  said  or  done  in  the  matter." ' 

Baldo  Inghirlami  is  at  pains  to  explain  that  in  his  dealings  with 
certain   ecclesiastical   personages   who  were   suspected   of  political 

^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  ccxlv,  ccxlviii,  ccxlix. 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  cclx  sqq.  (slightly  abridged). 
•  Ibid.,  p.  cclxiii. 


398  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

designs,  he,  as  a  member  of  the  Eight,  had  merely  carried  out  the 
orders  of  the  Signory,  or  acted  in  his  official  capacity.  Nor  did 
Fra  Girolamo  ever  say  a  word  to  him  on  the  subject ;  and  he  is 
surprised  that  the  Friar  should  now  avow  having  done  so.  This  is, 
perhaps,  the  only  case  in  which  we  can  detect  the  use  to  which  the 
falsified  confession  of  Savonarola  was  put,  in  any  matter  of  detail. 
As  for  secret  informations  conveyed  to  S.  Marco,  or  any  canvassing 
there,  he  knows  nothing.  And  whereas  he  used  to  know  beforehand, 
presumably  in  his  official  capacity,  the  names  of  the  newly-elected 
Signory,  he  never  by  word  or  sign  made  them  known  to  any  one ; 
nor  when  he  was  himself  one  of  the  Signory,  did  he  ever  go  to 
S.  Marco.  When  he  did  go  there  it  was  solely  to  hear  the  sermons, 
or  to  assist  at  i\Iass,  or  to  make  his  confession ;  never  for  political 
reasons,  but  only  for  his  soul's  good.  And  as  for  his  alleged  use  of 
the  back  door  of  the  convent,  he  has  a  brother  staying  with  him  who 
has  a  wife  and  family,  all  of  whom  frequented  S.  Marco  for  confession. 
And  when  some  of  them  were  ill,  it  happened  occasionally  that  the 
friars  would  come  to  visit  them,  and  would  use  the  back  door  of  the 
convent  which  opened  on  the  Via  della  Stufa,  "  for  their  convenience, 
just  as  we  did  ourselves  .  .  .  and  all  for  a  good  purpose."  ^ 

The  deposition  of  Andrea  Cambini  is  in  large  measure  con- 
cerned with  a  description  of  the  character  and  methods  of  action  of 
Francesco  Valori,  to  whom  indeed  Cambini  had  acted  as  a  kind  of 
agent-general.  Valori,  he  says,  was  warmly  attached  to  the  popular 
form  of  government,  which,  however,  in  his  opinion,  needed  some 
modifications.  Piero  de'  Medici  he  regarded  with  extreme  hatred 
("hodio  incomportabile  "),  and  this  feeling,  together  with  his  naturally 
suspicious  nature,  rendered  him  a  man  with  whom  it  was  exceedingly 
difficult  to  deal  ("  nel  praticare  era  salvatico  e  difficile  ").  But  strong 
as  were  Valori's  political  convictions,  Cambini  calls  God  to  witness 
that  he  never  knew  him  to  engage  in  secret  intrigues  of  any  kind. 
The  witness  speaks  at  some  length  concerning  Valori's  varying 
relations  with  Soderini,  Giambattista  Ridolfi,  Francesco  Gualterotti, 
Anlonio  Canigiani,  and  others.  But  whereas  he  was  suspected  of 
a  design  to  gain  power  for  himself,  he  always  disclaimed  the  intention 
of  making  himself  the  head  of  a  party. 

"  Towards  Fra  Hyeronimo  {sic),  and  the  whole  convent  of  S.  Marco, 
he  (Valori)  showed  the  greatest  possible  affection,  and  showed  that  he 
placed  the  fullest  confidence  (tucta  la  fede  sua)  in  them  ;  and  he  declared 

^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  cclxix  sqq. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  399 

that  on  their  behalf  he  was  ready  to  do  anything  ;  and  whenever  an 
debate  arose  which  concerned  them,  he  always  used  to  send  me  to  give 
them  notice  of  it  ;  and  in  like  manner  when  they  were  in  need  of  any- 
thing they  used  to  send  word  to  him  by  me,  and  he  would  help  and 
advise  them.  And  he  often  assured  me  that  so  great  was  the  reverence 
in  which  he  held  F'ra  Hyeronimo  that  it  would  go  sorely  against  his 
conscience  to  disturb  him  by  a  visit,  or  even  to  cause  him  to  be  disturbed 
on  his  account  (che  si  farebbe  gran  coscientia  a  richiederlo,  o  fargli  dire 
o  fare  cosa  alcuna  a  stanza  sua).  And  I  do  not  remember  that  he  ever 
charged  me  with  any  message  concerning  public  affairs.^  It  is  true  that 
quite  recently,  when  the  suppression  of  the  sermons  was  under  debate, 
M.  Francesco  Gualterotti  and  he  commissioned  me  to  go  and  tell 
Fra  H.  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Signory  to  suspend  him  from 
preaching,  and  that  they  were  of  opinion  that  he  would  do  well  to  desist 
of  his  own  accord  ;  and  they  begged  him  to  let  him  know  what  his  inten- 
tion was.  He  replied  that  he  would  await  the  prohibition  of  the  Signory, 
and  would  not  voluntarily  cease  to  preach.  So  too,  last  year,  on  the  eve 
of  Ascension  Day,  when  there  was  a  discussion  (altercatione)  as  to 
whether  he  should  be  allowed  to  preach  or  no,  Valori  sent  me  to  enquire 
whether  he  was  determined  to  preach.  He  replied  that  he  was  ;  and  on  the 
conclusion  of  the  debate  he  sent  him  word  that  the  Signory  had  determined 
that  he  might  preach  on  the  following  day,  and  that  therefore  he  could  do 
so  without  risk."- 

The  deponent  admits  that  when  Valori  was  to  be  succeeded  as 
Gonfaloniere  by  Bernardo  del  Nero,  \'alori  informed  him  of  the  fact, 
and  that  he  told  Fra  Salvestro,  Niccolb  Ridolfi,  and  others,  in  order 
that  they  might  inform  Bernardo  himself,  who  was  at  his  country 
seat.  So,  too,  he  made  known  to  Fra  Salvestro  the  names,  as  he 
had  heard  them,  of  those  who  were  elected  Signori  with  Giuliano 
Salviati,  though  in  this  case  it  turned  out  that  he  was  mistaken  as  to 
many  of  the  names.  As  to  secret  negotiations  of  Valori  with  other 
citizens  he  knows  nothing.  He  believes  however,  that  on  one 
occasion  he  went  with  Niccolb  Machiavelli  and  Tonmiaso  Guidetti 
to  visit  Francesco  della  Scarfa.  And  he  often  used  to  visit  Antonio 
Canigiani  when  the  latter  was  ill ;  and  twice  he  called  upon  Soderini, 
the  Bishoj)  of  Arezzo. 

"  Once  he  (Valori)  took  a  paper  from  his  desk  and  showed  me  a  long 
list  of  some  300  names,  saying  :  '  If  we  should  have  occasion  to  organise 
a  party  (usare  inteligentia)  these  would  be  our  friends,  but  I  don't  intend 

^  If  the  reader  will  note,  in  this  and  other  depositions,  the  kind  of  exceptions 
which  are  made  to  the  general  statement,  he  will  probably  be  more  fully  convinced 
than  by  tlie  general  statements  themselves,  of  the  groundlessness  of  the  accusation 
that  the  friars  of  S.  Marco  mingled  in  political  affairs. 

'  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  ccl.x.w  si/>j. 


400  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

to  attempt  anything  of  the  kind,  or  to  make  myself  a  party  leader  (farmi 
capo).'  And  so  he  put  away  the  list,  and  I  never  heard  of  it  again.  .  .  . 
On  another  occasion  Berto  da  Filicaja  drew  him  aside  and  talked  with 
him  for  awhile.  And  when  he  was  gone,  Valori  told  me  he  had  spoken 
of  the  necessity  of  organising  the  party,  adding  that  he  had  bidden  him 
betake  himself  to  Soderini  and  Ridolfi,  for  that  he  had  no  mind  to  be  the 
chief  of  a  faction  (non  mi  voglio  fare  stendardiere). 

"  A  fortnight  since,  Fra  Silvestro  showed  me  a  note  (una  poliza)  which 
one  of  the  friars  had  received,  and  which  contained  some  assurance  on 
the  part  of  Tommaso  Capponi  that  all  would  shortly  be  well  with  us,  and 
so  forth.  I  took  it  to  Valori  who  thought  it  ought  to  be  shown  to  the  Ten. 
But  I  would  not  undertake  to  do  this,  and  so  I  tore  it  up."  ^ 

These  trifling  details  at  least  serve  to  show  how  extremely 
careful  the  best  friends  of  Fra  Girolamo  were  to  avoid  even  the 
semblance  of  any  action  that  could  be  misconstrued  as  an  act 
of  disloyalty  to  the  city.  The  witness  proceeds  to  recount  how 
Salvestro  was  accustomed  to  give  him  notice  as  often  as  he  heard 
of  any  danger  which  seemed  to  threaten  Valori,  and  how  he  himself 
endeavoured  to  allay  the  suspicions  with  which  Valori  was  regarded, 
and  how  he  would  sometimes  speak  in  his  favour  even  to  those  who 
were  not  frequenters  of  S.  Marco.  And  on  the  other  hand,  in  speak- 
ino-  with  those  who  were  almost  infatuated  with  their  love  of  S.  Marco 
("  che  sapevo  non  legevono  altro  libro  ")  he  would  say  a  word  in 
favour  of  Corsini,  Buondelmonte,  or  Scarfa,  assuring  them  that  though 
these  men  were  not  devotees  of  the  convent,  still  they  were  good 
citizens,  who,  if  they  were  elected,  would  serve  the  republic  faith- 
fully. And  after  this  fashion  he  strove  to  promote  peace  and  good- 
will on  all  sides.2 

Of  secret  understandings  or  intrigues  in  the  convent  he  knows 
nothing,  nor  was  any  effort  made  by  the  friars  or  their  friends  to 
confine  the  government  offices  exclusively  to  one  party.  But  in 
familiar  conversations  among  themselves,  as  election  day  drew  near, 
it  naturally  happened  that  they  would  discuss  the  merits  of  the 
various  candidates,  and  that  they  were  disposed  to  vote  for  those 
who  seemed  likely  to  promote  the  public  welfare,  as  they  conceived 
it.  But  the  witness  repeats  that  if  he  was  questioned  by  men  of 
little  knowledge  or  experience  concerning  the  qualities  of  men  who 
were  not  adherents  of  the  Friar  {e.g.  Buondelmonte  and  the  others 
named  above),  he  would  speak  in  their  praise.  ^ 

1  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  cclxxvi  sqq, 
*  Ibid.,  pp.  cclxxviii  sijq, 
^  Ibid.,  pp.  cclxxix  sqq. 


THE  DEi'OSITIONS  401 

In  his  second  examination  (27th  April)  he  admits  that  towards 
the  end  of  Valori's  term  of  office,  knowing  that  his  friend  was 
desirous  that  Antonio  Canigiani  should  be  his  successor,  he  com- 
municated this  wish  to  Fra  Salvestro,  in  the  hope  that  Salvestro 
would  use  his  influence  on  behalf  of  Antonio.  And  on  another 
occasion,  when  Fra  Salvestro  hoped  that  one  Giovanni  di  Dino 
might  be  chosen  Gonfaloniere,  Cambini  suggested  that  they  should 
support  Scarfa  instead,  as  Giovanni  had  no  chance.  And  yet  again, 
when  Valori  hoped  that  Corsini  might  be  elected,  Cambini  told 
Salvestro  of  this  also.  Moreover,  he  once  spoke  to  Fra  Girolamo 
about  Valori,  in  the  hopes  that  the  Friar  might  find  some  opportunity 
of  helping  to  mitigate  the  odium  which  Valori  had  incurred  in  con- 
nection with  the  execution  of  Bernardo  del  Nero.  On  the  occasion 
of  his  embassy  to  Giovanni  Bentivoglio,  at  Bologna,  the  witness 
declares  that  he  fulfilled  his  commission  of  treating  with  him  about 
business  matters,  that  in  further  conversation  he  spoke  highly  of  the 
present  form  of  government,  and  that  when  Bentivoglio  asked  him 
what  the  Friar  was  about,  he  had  replied  that  the  Friar  attended  to 
his  preaching  and  his  prayers,  while  the  citizens  attended  to  the 
government  of  the  city.  And  this,  with  the  admission  that  he  was 
occasionally  rallied  as  the  holder  of  all  Valori's  secrets,  is  the  sum 
and  substance  of  Cambini's  evidence  as  bearing  on  the  alleged 
political  action  of  the  friars  of  S.  Marco,  and  on  the  behaviour  of  the 
most  powerful  among  Savonarola's  friends  and  supporters.^ 

IV.  The  ^'- subscription^^  or  joint  letter. — A  topic  which  seems  to 
have  greatly  exercised  the  minds  of  the  examiners,  and  to  which, 
as  has  been  seen,  constant  reference  was  made  in  the  debates  on  the 
trial,  was  the  joint  letter  to  the  Pope  in  favour  of  Savonarola.  It 
was  written,  as  has  been  seen,  in  the  summer  of  1497,  and  signed  by 
some  350  citizens,  but  was  never  forwarded  to  its  destination.  The 
chief  witness  on  this  subject  is  Fra  Ruberto  Ubaldini,  who  was 
employed  to  see  the  business  through.  This  is,  with  the  omission  of 
a  few  superfluous  phrases,  the  account  which  he  gives  of  the  matter. 

"  I  hereby  attest  that  in  the  month  of  June  or  July  1497  (for  I  cannot 
recall  the  precise  date),  I  was  charged  to  send  to  the  Pope,  in  the  name 
of  the  brethren  of  the  Congregation  of  S.  Marco,  an  attestation  in  favour 
of  Fra  Hieronymo  da  Ferrara,  at  that  time  Vicar  of  the  said  Congrega- 
tion, setting  forth  that— whereas  he  had  been  excommunicated  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  preached  erroneous  and  pernicious  doctrine,  which 

1  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  cclxxxi  sqq. 
2  C 


402  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

savoured  of  heresy — lie  was  neither  a  heretic  nor  a  seditious  person,  and 
that  his  doctrine  was  neither  pernicious  or  calculated  to  breed  dissension, 
but  rather  to  promote  union  and  peace  ;  and  that,  accordingly,  we  prayed 
his  Holiness  to  absolve  the  aforesaid  Fra  Hieronymo.  That  in  case  the 
signatures  of  about  250  of  the  brethren  should  not  be  deemed  sufficient, 
we  offered  him  those  of  a  great  number  of  good  and  noble  citizens  ;  and 
that  if  even  this  were  not  enough  we  could  procure  not  merely  hundreds 
but  thousands  of  additional  names.  The  notaries,  Ser  Benedecto  da 
Ferrarossa  and  Ser  Filippo  Cioni,  my  friends,  knowing  that  I  wrote  a 
good  hand,  instructed  me  to  write  the  particulars  above  mentioned  on 
fine  paper :  and  I  suppose  they  must  have  been  asked  to  take  the  matter 
in  hand  (et  loro  haveano  ad  essere  rogati). 

"And  after  Messer  Francesco  Valori,  and  Messer  Domenico  Bonsi, 
and  Messer  Francesco  da  lesio  had  signed,  Fra  Silvestro  charged  me 
diligently  to  attend  to  the  taking  of  the  signatures  ;  and  I  accepted  the 
commission,  and  supervised  the  affair,  remaining  for  the  purpose  in  the 
guest-house.  All  was  done  in  the  presence  of  Ser  Benedecto  or  Ser 
Filippo  aforesaid,  or  of  both  of  them,  or  of  some  one  else,  religious  or 
secular,  in  their  stead  ;  and  I  would  read  the  document  to  those  who 
came  to  sign  it,  and  to  some  I  dictated  what  they  should  write,  while 
others  preferred  to  sign  after  their  own  fashion,  and  I  allowed  them  to  do 
as  they  pleased. 

"  And  whereas  it  happened  that  some  signed  their  names  in  my  un- 
avoidable absence,  among  whom  were  certain  persons  of  no  position  (che 
erano  persone  ignobili),  as  for  instance,  certain  barbers  and  clerks.  .  .  . 
Fra  Silvestro  reproved  me  for  this,  saying  that  I  must  take  care  that, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  letter,  only  respectable  persons  and 
gentlemen  (huomini  da  bene  et  nobili)  signed  it,  and  that  those  names  of 
persons  of  no  consideration  were  not  to  the  purpose.  Accordingly,  I  sent 
many  persons  away,  and  would  not  allow  them  to  sign.  But  afterwards 
I  reflected  that  offence  might  be  taken  (che  si  dovessino  scandalezzare), 
and  so  I  allowed  all  sorts  of  people  to  put  down  their  names.  Some, 
as  they  signed,  exclaimed :  '  This  is  as  true  as  the  Gospel  (questo 
e  il  Vangelio  di  S.  Giovanni)  ;  I  will  bring  so-and-so.'  And  then  they 
went  and  brought  others — or  failed  to  do  so,  as  the  case  might  be  (chi  si 
et  chi  no).  And  I  myself  sent  for  certain  of  my  relatives  and  friends 
who  would  not  come — for  instance,  G.  Cerretani,  Gh.  Altoviti,  G- 
Buongirolami,  and  others  whose  names  I  have  forgotten.  But  some 
came,  and  signed  the  letter.  I  did  this  because  it  seemed  right,  and 
even  a  matter  of  obligation,  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth.  .  .  .  Some 
said  they  would  bring  certain  of  the  adversaries  of  Fra  Girolamo.  I 
remember  that  Piero  delli  Albizzi  said  he  would  bring  Piero  delli  Alberti, 
who  promised  to  come,  but  did  not.  There  was  talk  of  bringing  Alphonso 
Strozi,  and  Jacopo  di  Tanay  (de'  Nerli),  and  Philippo  Giugni,  but  it  was 
thought  doubtful  whether,  if  they  came,  their  signatures  would  be  accepted. 
I  said  they  would  be  most  welcome,  and  that  we  should  receive  them 
in  all   charity.      However,   they  did  not   come.      But  Jacopo  Stiattesi 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  403 

(Scliiattesi)  came,  and  others  whom  we  should  never  have  expected. 
Others  came,  but  would  not  sign— for  instance,  Antonio  (Jiraldi,  Luca 
delli  Albizi  [and  others  who  are  named].  Others,  again,  who  came  were 
at  first  unwilling  to  sign,  but  were  talked  over  by  Fra  Silveslro  and  Era 
Domenico.  Agnolo  Niccolini  was  sent  for,  but  would  not  sign,  for  he  dis- 
approved of  the  form  of  the  letter,  which  he  thought  would  do  no  good, 
and  altogether  seemed  undecided.*  Giuliano  Salviati,  though  sent  for, 
would  not  sign,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection.  Fra  Cosimo  Tornabuoni 
sent  for  Lorenzo  (his  relative),  and  the  latter  professed  indignation  that  he 
had  not  been  asked  sooner.     He  wrote  his  name,  but  apart  from  the  rest. 

"  The  affair  was  never  brought  to  a  conclusion,  because  the  pestilence 
attacked  the  convent  just  at  that  time.  Andrea  Cambini  was  com- 
missioned to  mention  the  matter  to  Francesco  Valori,  and  I  afterwards 
understood  from  Andrea  that  Francesco  replied  that  the  letter  (with  the 
signatures)  ought  to  be  burnt,  and  no  copy  taken,  and  that  on  no  account 
ought  it  to  be  sent  to  Rome.  When  I  told  this  to  Fra  Girolamo,  he  did 
not  seem  to  make  much  account  of  it  ;  and  I  suppose  it  was  from  in- 
advertence that  the  matter  rested  so. 

"  In  acting  as  I  did,  I  thought  I  was  doing  right,  and  I  did  it  out  of 
obedience,  not  merely  to  Fra  Silvestro,  but  also  to  Fra  Hieronymo.  For 
he,  on  hearing  that  I  had  the  matter  in  hand,  was  well  satisfied  that  I 
should  have  the  management  of  it,  because  I  was  acquainted  with  so 
many  (perch^  havevo  notitia  delli  huomini)."* 

It  is  curious  that  Valori,  who  certainly  at  first  approved  of  the 
letter,  and  had  been  the  first  to  sign  it,  should  afterwards  have 
expressed  himself  as  he  is  here  said  to  have  done.  The  only 
explanation  seems  to  be  that  he  did  not  like  the  list  of  names ; 
either  because  the  obscure  condition  of  some  of  the  signatories 
made  the  affair  a  little  ridiculous,  or  (as  is  perhaps  more  probable) 
because  he  did  not  care  to  find  himself  in  the  same  boat  with  men 
like  Tornabuoni  and  Pucci,  whom,  in  fact,  he  himself  brought  to 
the  gallows  within  a  very  few  weeks. 

To  this  full,  true,  and  particular  account  of  the  matter  the  other 
witnesses  have  little  to  add.  Fra  Salvestro,  however,  mentions  how 
the  affair  came  to  be  set  on  foot,  and  entirely  confirms  Ubaldini's 
evidence.  It  was  understood,  he  says,  at  S.  Marco,  that  a  joint 
letter,  signed  by  many  citizens,  and  full  of  calumnious  accusations 
against  Fra  Girolamo,  had  been  sent  to  Rome,  and  it  was  thought 

*  The  sentence  is  so  obscure  that  we  have  contented  ourselves  with  a  very 
general  paraphrase.  The  matter  is  of  interest  only  because  Agnolo  Niccolini 
stood  almost  alone  among  the  more  prominent  politicians  of  the  time  in  raising 
his  voice  in  favour  of  Fra  Girolamo  in  the  days  of  his  downfall. 

'^  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  cclv  sqq. 


404  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

well  that  a  counter-manifesto  should  be  prepared.  Accordingly, 
the  two  notaries,  Ser  Filippo  and  Ser  Benedetto,  were  sent  for,  and 
the  matter  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Fra  Ruberto.  The  deponents 
mention  the  refusal  of  certain  of  the  citizens  to  sign  the  memorial ; 
they  said  it  was  a  thing  got  up  at  the  instance  of  Valori ;  and 
Luca  degli  Albizzi  warned  Salvestro  that  it  was  a  dangerous  business, 
alleging  the  case  of  a  similar  joint  letter,  written  in  1466,  which  had 
turned  out  badly.  Some  of  the  most  determined  supporters  of 
Savonarola,  e.g.  Francesco  del  Pugliese  and  J.  and  A.  Salviati, 
misliked  the  affair  greatly,  but  said  that,  as  it  had  been  set  on  foot, 
they  would  put  their  names  to  the  letter.^ 

Andrea  Cambini  explains  that  the  origin  of  the  whole  affair  was 
a  letter  from  Bracci  to  his  son-in-law,  Ser  Bastiano,  or  one  of  the 
Mannelli,  from  which  the  brethren  of  S.  Marco  had  learned  that  a 
manifesto,  hostile  to  Fra  Girolamo,  was  believed  (at  Rome)  to  be  in 
preparation.  They  consulted  Valori  and  Ridolfi,  who  approved  the 
scheme  of  a  letter  in  the  Friar's  defence.  It  was  brought  to  Valori 
for  signature,  and  Cambini  likewise  signed  it ;  but  he  made  little 
account  of  it,  and  never  enquired  what  became  of  it,  "because  it 
was  signed  by  all  sorts  of  people,  seculars,  religious,  and  foreigners."  2 
He  says  nothing,  however,  of  any  change  of  mind  on  the  part  of 
Valori  concerning  the  letter. 

V.  The  affair  of  the  Ordeal. — For  the  sake  of  completeness  we 
set  down  here  the  account  which  Fra  Domenico  gave,  at  the  trial, 
of  his  own  part  in  this  business.  Fra  Girolamo's  version  of  the 
story,  as  given  by  Ceccone,  will  be  found  in  the  next  chapter. 

"  It  is  [says  Domenico]  the  demon  who  has  put  it  into  men's  minds 
that  I  was  guilty  of  sin  in  carrying  (or  rather,  in  proposing  to  carry)  the 
Sacred  Host  into  the  fire.  I  am  certain  that  I  should  not  have  been 
burnt  ;  and  therefore  there  would  have  been  no  scandal,  but  rather  the 
people  would  have  been  edified  ;  and  accordingly  the  devil  was  angry. 

"  But  when  I  shall  stand  in  the  presence  of  Christ  1  will  make  it  clear 
to  all  the  people  whether  in  this  matter  I  acted  of  my  own  accord,  or 
by  the  will  and  interior  movement  of  God,  who  willed  it  so.  Nor  is  it 
necessary  that  every  one  should  understand  why  He  so  willed  it  ;  but 
let  him  who  does  not  understand  this  say  to  himself:  'I  do  not  under- 
stand it'  ;  and  let  him  not  be  scandalised  or  murmur.  But  all  the  works 
of  Christ  are  as  'a  sign  that  shall  be  spoken  against.'  It  is  enough  for  me 
that  I  came  to  the  spot  determined  by  all  means  to  enter  (the  fire),  nor 
did  I  apprehend  that  any  objection  would  be  raised  (n^  mai  pensai  d' 

»  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  ccxxii.  '  Ibid.,  p.  cclxxiv. 


THE  DEPOSITIONS  405 

liavere  a  essere  appuntato)  concerning  the  Sacred  Host  ;  because  I  knew 
that  alllioiifih,  even  witlioul  the  Host,  (.od  would  have  delivered  me,  yet  in 
fact  He  willed  that  I  should  act  as  I  did.  I  thought  indeed  that  many, 
who  are  no  friends  of  God,  would  derive  no  profit  from  the  miracle,  but 
would  certainly  attribute  it  to  the  Sacred  Host,  which  (they  would  allege) 
could  not  burn  ;  as  if  the  species  of  the  Sacrament  could  not  burn, 
though  this  has  often  happened.  ...  A  thousand  Hosts  would  not  save 
a  man  from  the  fire  if  he  had  not  the  truth  on  his  side.'' ' 

We  cannot  take  leave  of  Fra  Domenico  without  a  tribute  to  his 
character  and  to  his  bearing  under  examination.  A  man  of  deep 
piety,  of  most  earnest  zeal,  and  of  transparent  simplicity,  he  only 
needed  wiser  guidance  to  have  become  a  model  of  religious  virtue. 
Among  all  the  depositions  at  the  trial  of  Savonarola  none  approaches 
that  of  Fra  Domenico  in  simple  dignity.  It  commences  with  the 
words  : — 

"God  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  knoweth  that  I,  Fra  Domenico,  a 
prisoner  for  His  sake,  do  lie  in  nothing  that  is  here  set  down."''^ 

And  at  the  end  of  its  first  section,  after  a  fresh  protestation  that 
he  has  spoken  the  truth  without  reserve,  the  writer  concludes  : — 

"  I  pray  your  good  lordships  (vostre  Benignitk)  not  to  twist  my  words 
after  a  sophistical  fashion,  for  your  wisdom  is  aware  that  words  ought  to 
be  understood  according  to  the  intention  of  him  who  uses  them,  to  the 
glory  of  the  God  of  all  truth.  May  He  inspire  you  to  believe  me,  and  to 
do  in  my  regard  the  will  of  Him  who  is  blessed  for  ever.     Amen."^ 

A  little  later  he  writes  : — 

"There  is  nothing  else  that  I  remember  ;  if  you  wish  to  learn  anything 
else  from  me,  question  me  like  good  confessors,  and  I  will  do  my  best  to 
satisfy  you.  But  believe  all  I  say,  and  this  you  may  well  do  ;  for  having 
always  had  a  tender  conscience,  I  know  very  well  that  it  is  a  sin  to  tell  a 
lie  in  court,  or  to  keep  back  what  ought  to  be  made  known.  I  have 
tried  throughout  to  act  as  if  I  were  about  to  die  forthwith,  which  indeed 
may  well  happen,  if  you  torture  me.  For  I  am  quite  broken  down  and 
have  lost  the  use  of  both  my  arms,  especially  the  left  one,  'el  quale  con 
questa,  g\h.  due  volte,  ho  guasto.'  Wherefore,  I  pray  you,  deal  gently  with 
me,  and  believe  the  truth  of  this  my  simple  writing."  * 

And  again  : — 

"  Suffer  me,  honourable  citizens,  to  recommend  to  you  your  miserable 
prisoner,  from    whom,  since   the   first    torment   of  the   rope,  you   have 

*  Villari,  ii.  Append,  pp.  ccv  si/^/.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  cxcix. 

*  Jbid. ,  pp.  ccvi  j(/</.  *  Ibid. ,  pp.  ccxiv  jyy. 


4o6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

learned  nothing  of  importance,  for  he  has  lived  a  simnle  life,  and  hns  not 
busied  himself  in  your  affairs,  but  only  in  preaching  .  .  .  what  per- 
tains to  a  virtuous  life  and  to  the  honour  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of 
Florence.  And  so  by  this  second  application  of  the  rope,  if  indeed  in 
your  distrust  of  me  you  should  administer  it,  you  will  not  learn  anything 
fresh,  for  there  is  nothing  to  tell  :  and  you  will  put  me  in  danger  of 
death.     Let  God's  will  be  done."  ^ 

The  whole  deposition  concludes  with  the  words  :  "  In  simplicitate 
cordis  met  letus  obtuli  universa." 

'  Villari,  ii.  Append,  p.  ccxvi.     Villari  adds:   "Pare  die,   in  questi  ultimi 
momenti,  la  tortura  venisse  spesso  (?)  ripctuta.'' 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE    EXAMINATION    OF    FRA    GIROLAMO 

TOWARDS  the  close  of  that  section  of  his  History  of  the  Popes 
in  which  he  deals  with  the  career  of  Savonarola,  Dr  Pastor 
writes  : — 

"  It  is  plain  that  Savonarola's  statements,  forced  from  him  by  torture, 
and  further  distorted  by  interpolated  sentences  and  omissions,  cannot  be 
accepted  as  proofs  of  anything.  Thus  the  justice  of  his  sentence  can 
never  be  either  proved  or  disproved."  ^ 

Yet,  however  much  we  may  distrust  the  employment  of  torture 
as  a  means  of  eliciting  the  truth,  the  historian  cannot  afford  entirely 
to  pass  over  such  documents  as  the  depositions  of  prisoners  or 
witnesses  even  though  they  have  been  taken  under  such  conditions. 
They  must  be  received,  of  course,  with  reserve ;  but  where  a  number 
of  witnesses  agree,  even  under  stress  of  so  barbarous  a  mode  of  ex- 
amination, the  evidence  clearly  cannot  be  set  aside  as  altogether 
valueless.2 

It  may  of  course  be  urged  that  in  such  a  case,  when  not  only 
has  torture  been  employed,  but  a  falsifier  has  also  been  at  work,  a 
deposition  ceases  to  have  any  importance  whatever  ;  and  this  con- 
sideration had  all  but  determined  us  to  pass  over  entirely  the  three 
processes  of  Fra  Girolamo  himself,  and  to  confine  our  attention 
to  the  genuine  or  substantially  genuine  documents  which  have 
occupied  the  bulk  of  the  preceding  chapter.  Having  regard, 
however,  to  the  minute  account  given  by  Vivoli  and  Fra  Benedetto 
of  the  manner  in  which  Ser  Ceccone  fulfilled  his  nefarious  task, 
it  has  seemed  to  us  that  a  very  fair  notion  may  be  gathered  of  what 
Savonarola  really  said,  and  that  what  he  did  say  is  of  sufficient 
interest  to  find  a  place  in  such  a  biography  as  the  present. 

1  Pastor,  vi.  48.  '^  Cf.  ArmMrong,  C.M.H.  i.  182. 

407 


4o8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

This,  then,  in  a  somewhat  condensed  form,  is  what  Vivoli 
tells  us  ; — 

"  The  only  genuine  deposition  of  Fra  Girolamo  was  that  which  he 
wrote  with  his  own  hand,  and  which  afterwards  came  into  the  hands  of 
Giovanni  Berlinghieri,  one  of  the  Signory,  who  showed  it  to  several 
persons  but  would  never  let  anyone  read  it  [and  which,  after  Berlinghieri's 
death,  was  destroyed].^  In  fact,  these  wicked  men  (the  Signory)  seeing 
that  they  could  not  get  out  of  Fra  Hieronimo  anything  that  could  justify 
them  in  having  laid  violent  hands  on  him,  and  seeing,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
the  people  were  impatiently  murmuring  against  themselves,  concocted  in 
great  haste  a  summary  process  (fabbricorno  cosi  in  fretta  fretta  un  processo 
falso  di  poche  carte)  taken,  as  was  said  at  the  time,  partly  from  his  written 
deposition,  but  with  certain  additions  (postille)  here  and  there  (in  piu 
luoghi)  which  quite  perverted  all  that  Fra  Girolamo  had  said,  and  which 
were  said  to  have  been  made  by  Ser  Cecchone,  who  acted  as  secretary  to 
the  examiners.  This  done,  they  caused  the  falsified  process  to  be  printed. 
But  soon  afterwards  these  men,  so  wise  according  to  the  wisdom  of  this 
world,  perceived  that  they  had  put  forth  a  document  which  proved 
nothing  (di  poco  fondamento),  and  which  had  been  compiled  with  scant 
prudence  ;  and  therefore  orders  were  issued  that  all  copies  should  be 
returned  to  the  printer  within  a  few  hours.  .  .  .  But  Botticello  {i.e.  Simone 
Filipepi)  relates  in  his  chronicle  that  he  did  not  return  his  own  copy, 
and  I  have  myself  seen  the  document."^ 

This  account  of  the  matter,  which  is  confirmed  by  Fra  Benedetto, 
is  certainly  not  such  as  ought  to  inspire  any  high  degree  of  confidence 
in  the  published  process.  There  were  discrepancies,  according  to 
both  writers,  not  only  between  what  Fra  Girolamo  said  or  wrote, 
and  what  Ceccone  took  down  in  his  notes,  but  also  between  what 
the  notary  first  wrote  and  the  official  copy  which  was  made  for  the 
Sijnory  and  preserved  in  the  State  archives,  and  again  between  the 
official  manuscript  copy  and  the  printed  report.  Fra  Girolamo's 
written  deposition  neither  Vivoli  nor  Benedetto  had  seen.  But 
Ceccone's  notes  had  come  into  the  possession  of  a  certain  Jacopo 
Mannelli,  a  canon  of  the  cathedral,  and  an  adherent  of  Savonarola, 
who    had    them    from    Ceccone's    widow.      In    Mannelli's    house 

1  The  destruction  of  the  document  is  vouched  for,  not  by  Vivoli,  who,  on  the 
contrary,  says  that  some  believed  it  to  be  still  in  existence  (Villari,  ii.  Append,  p. 
cxiii),  but  by  Fra  Benedetto  (p.  cxxxiii).  The  latter  says  that  Piero  degli 
Alberti  persuaded  Madonna  Berlinghieri  to  burn  or  destroy  the  papers  after  her 
husband's  death.  According  to  Cinozzi  (pp.  27-28)  and  Vivoli  {loc.  cit.), 
Berlinghieri  declared  that  the  publication  of  these  papers  would  have  led  to  the 
death  of  forty  (Cinozzi  says  400)  citizens  ;  whether  as  bringing  them  within  reach 
of  the  law,  or  as  exposing  them  to  popular  hatred,  does  not  appear. 

2  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  p.  cxiv. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  409 

Benedetto  had  read  them,  and  so,  it  would  seem,  had  Vivoh,  and 
both  of  them  appear  to  have  had  access  to  the  government  archives.' 
However,  notwithstanding  all  these  grounds  for  mistrust,  we  are 
convinced  that  the  three  documents  which  make  up  the  process,  and 
which  are  given  in  full  by  Villari  in  his  Appendix,  are  very  far 
indeed  from  being  without  historical  value.  The  recorded  answers 
of  Savonarola  to  the  interrogatory  administered  to  him  touch  upon  a 
multitude  of  points  concerning  which  the  notary  had  no  motive  for 
tampering  with  the  evidence,  or  in  which,  if  he  had  chosen  to 
improve  upon  it,  he  might  easily  have  given  it  a  more  seriously 
incriminating  character.  Moreover,  both  Vivoli  and  Benedetto 
proceed  to  set  forth,  by  way  of  specimen,  some  of  the  particulars  m 
which  Ceccone  had  altered  the  record  ;  and  although  they  professedly 
give  but  a  few  instances  out  of  many,  we  may  feel  sure  that  they 
selected  those  which  seemed  to  them  to  be  the  most  noteworthy. 
Now,  of  these  specified  alterations  all,  or  nearly  all,  have 
reference  not  to  overt  acts  but  to  the  motives  and  intentions 
whereby  Savonarola  was  guided.  Here,  then,  we  seem  to  have  a 
rule  provided  for  our  own  guidance.  Where  the  report  speaks  of 
motives  and  intentions  it  is  to  be  regarded  as — in  detail  at  least — 
entirely  untrustworthy ;  but  not  so  when  it  deals  with  external  and 
tangible  facts.  Yet  again,  even  as  regards  Fra  Girolamo's  alleged 
admission  that  he  was  actuated  by  unworthy  motives,  that  he 
deceived  the  people,  and  so  forth,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
even  such  enthusiastic  admirers  and  devoted  adherents  of  the  Friar 
as  Vivoli  and  Fra  Benedetto  do  not  hesitate  to  admit  that  Savonarola, 
believing  that  he  was  justified  in  dealing  craftily  with  a  crafty 
adversary,  not  only  made  use  of  ambiguous  and  misleading  expres- 
sions—for which  no  one,  it  may  be  presumed,  would  blame  him 
overmuch — but  told  downright  falsehoods;  for  which  proceeding 
Vivoli  is  at  considerable  pains  to  excuse  him. 

1  Benedetto,  p.  cxxxv.  ;  Vivoli,  pp.  cxvii.  It  is  Benedetto  alone  who  mentions 
that  Ceccone's  notes  were  in  the  possession  of  Mannelli.  Hitherto  for  the  sake  of 
convenience  we  have  spoken  of  Vivoli  and  Benedetto  as  though  they  were 
independent  witnesses.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  ought  in  all  cases  to  be 
so  regarded.  The  Giontale  of  Vivoli  and  the  Vulnera  Diligtntis  of  Benedetto 
are  both  cast  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  ;  and  although  the  "  Soffia  "  of  the  Gwniate 
and  the  "Agiicola"  of  the  Vulnera  Dilignitis  no  doubt  represent  in  a  general 
way  the  respective  writers,  it  is  obvious  that  in  such  a  form  of  composition  the 
author  might  attribute  even  to  the  chief  among  his  dramatis  personcc,  knowledge 
and  experience  whicli  were  not  his  own.  We  very  strongly  suspect  that  in  mnny 
instances  Benedetto  has  burrowed  from  Vivoli,  or  vice  versa. 


4IO  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Of  Fra  Girolamo's  use  of  ambiguous  expressions  the  most  notable 
instance  is  his  repeated  assertion  that  he  did  or  said  this  or  that 
"  for  glory,"  meaning,  as  Vivoli  explains,  that  he  spoke  and  acted 
"  for  the  glory  of  God  " ;  whereas  Ceccone  filled  out  the  phrase  and 
made  him  confess  that  he  sought  in  all  things  his  own  honour  and 
reputation.  This  was  just  the  sort  of  trick  which  was  calculated  to 
impose  on  the  credulous  and  to  destroy  the  good  name  of  the 
prophet ;  though  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  his  actual  condemna- 
tion was  based  on  this  false  imputation  of  unworthy  motives. 

But  if  we  may  trust  the  memory  of  Fra  Benedetto,  Savonarola 
by  no  means  stopped  short  at  the  use  of  ambiguous  language. 
Professing,  as  he  does,  to  have  read  the  original  record  of  the  ex- 
amination before  P.omolino — a  document  which  Romolino  carried 
off  with  him  to  Rome,  and  of  which  only  a  summary, "  fatto  sub 
brevita "  by  Ceccone,,  remained  at  Florence — this  is  the  account 
which  he  gives  of  the  matter : — 

"  In  this  final  process,  whereof  I  have  had  the  original  in  my  hands 
...  I  found  that  Fra  Hieronymo,  being  bound,  in  preparation  for  the 
torture,  declared  with  a  loud  voice  that  all  those  things  which  he  had 
preached  and  foretold  in  verbo  Domitii  were  true  and  not  false,  and  that 
he  was  ready  to  give  his  life  for  them  ;  and  he  spoke  with  great  warmth 
(molto  vivamente)  to  this  effect.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  papal  com- 
missaries, making  little  account  of  (non  apprezando)  his  words,  had  him 
hoisted  on  the  rope  and  most  cruelly  tortured  him.^  And  he,  seeing  that 
they  did  not  wish  to  hear  the  truths  begatt  to  change  his  uttera7ices^  without 
however  changing  his  inifid  (incominci6  a  mutare  vocaboli,  ma  non 
sententia),  pretending  to  be  what  he  was  not ;  pretending,  I  say,  yet 
without  lying,  na7n  fingere  licet  sed  tioti  per  duplicitatem.  .  .  .  And  take 
note  that  this  method  of  first  declaring  the  truth  and  then  concealing  it 
was  adopted  by  Fra  Hieronymo  on  every  occasion  on  which  he  was  put  to 
the  torture  .  .  .  which  occasions  were  many  during  die  course  of  the 
forty-five  days  during  which  they  held  him  prisoner."  ^ 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  follow  Vivoli  through  his  long  apology 
for  Savonarola's  prevarication — if  the  term  be  not  too  strong — on 
this  occasion.  The  most  liberal  allowance  must  of  course  be  made 
for  a  man  reduced  to  such  extremities  ;  and  without  excusing  the 
line  which  he  adopted,  we  certainly  have  no  wish  to  press  the  matter 
against  him  as  though  he  had  been  guilty  herein  of  grievous  sin. 

1  This  only  partially  agrees  with,  but  may  perhaps  throw  some  light  on,  an 
obscure  passage  which  will  hereafter  be  quoted  from  the  third  process  as 
summarised  V;y  Ceccone,  infra^  pp.  423,  sqq. 

2  Villari,  loc.  cit.^  p.  cxxxv. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  411 

The  notion  that  he  was  at  Hlterty  to  say  and  unsay  (ridire)  the  '■ame 
thing  again  and  again,  without  incurring  the  guilt  of  a  formal  lie,  is 
perhaps  best  accounted  as  of  a  piece  with  liis  other  delusions.  It  is 
hardly  the  line  of  conduct  which  we  usually  associate  with  the  idea 
of  a  martyr.  As  to  the  fact  there  can,  we  take  it,  be  no  manner  of 
reasonable  doubt.  The  friends  of  Fra  Girolamo  eagerly  gathered  up 
every  shred  of  information,  every  damning  admission,  which  subse- 
quently escaped  the  incautious  lips  of  those  who  had  been  engaged 
in  the  trial.  But  while  many  of  them  are  said  to  have  declared  that 
he  had  done  nothing  worthy  of  punishment,  and  while  Doffo  Spini 
himself  is  said  to  have  declared  that  had  he  known  Fra  Girolamo 
sooner  he  would  have  been  his  fervent  disciple,  no  attempt  is  made 
to  call  in  question  the  truth  of  the  allegation  that  his  account  of  his 
own  motives,  and  of  the  nature — divine  or  human,  genuine  or  pre- 
tended— of  his  revelations  and  visions,  was  by  no  means  uniform  and 
consistent  throughout. 

We  now  give  in  brief  the  substance  of  the  first  process,  such  as 
it  has  come  down  to  us,  noting  here  and  there,  at  the  foot  of  the  page, 
the  instances  in  which  Vivoli  explicitly  bears  witness  that  the 
deponent's  words  were  maliciously  altered  by  the  notary. 

"  About  fifteen  years  ago,  being  one  day  in  the  monastery  of  S.  Giorgio, 
during  my  fust  stay  at  Florence,  I  set  myself  to  compose  a  sermon.  And 
there  occurred  to  me  about  seven  reasons  for  believing  that  some  scourge 
of  the  Church  was  imminent.  On  this  subject  I  preached  at  S.  Gimignano 
during  two  successive  years,  and  afterwards  at  Brescia  and  many  other 
places  in  Lombardy.  On  my  return  to  Florence  I  commenced  to  expound 
the  Apocalypse  at  S.  Marco,  on  ist  August  1490,  and  there,  and  at  S. 
Liberata,  in  the  following  year,  I  spoke  on  the  same  theme,  not  professing 
to  have  any  revelation  on  the  subject,  but  urging  all  the  reasons  that  I 
could.i  After  the  following  Easter  Fra  Silvestro  told  me  that  whereas 
he  had  doubted  concerning  the  things  which  I  said,  and  had  thought  me 
mad,  one  of  our  deceased  brethren  had  appeared  to  him  and  reproved 
him  for  thinking  so  of  me  ;  and  thereafter  he  had  many  similar  visions  as 
he  told  me  himself.''^  And  so  ...  I  felt  myself  impelled  to  affirm  these 
things  more  positively  than  I  had  yet  done,  although,  in  fact,  they  were 

'  There  is  no  doubt  that  1490  is  the  correct  date.  In  the  Compendium 
Revelationum  he  writes  1489,  but  this  is  certainly  an  error,  for  ist  August  fell 
on  a  Sunday  not  in  1489,  but  in  1 490.     See  above,  p.  26,  and  note  i  ibid. 

-  This  is  confirmed  in  substance  by  the  deposition  of  Fra  Salvestro.  We  find 
the  name  written  Silvestro  in  the  first  process,  but  Salvestro  in  the  third.  There 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  latter  was  the  name  by  wliicli  he  was 
familiarly  known.     Hence  we  have  used  it  throughout,  except  in  quotations. 


412  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

my  own  inventions.^  And  seeing  that  the  affair  prospered,  and  that  my 
reputation  with  the  people  was  on  the  increase,  I  began  to  say  that  I  had 
these  things  by  revelation.  And  very  often  I  repeated  things  which  Fra 
Silvestro  told  me,  deeming  them  to  be  true;  nevertheless,  I  did  not  converse 
with  God  nor  God  with  me  in  any  special  manner,  as  He  is  wont  to  speak 
to  His  holy  apostles  or  the  prophets.^  Afterwards  I  became  so  intoxicated 
with  these  things  that  I  declared  myself  to  be  more  certain  of  them  than 
that  I  was  in  the  pulpit,  or  that  two  and  two  make  four.  And  this  I  said 
in  order  to  strengthen  my  hearers  in  their  belief.  And  so  things  went  on 
till  1494.  And  when  the  new  form  of  government  had  been  established 
in  that  year,  I  affirmed  my  conclusions  (le  cose  mie)  with  still  more 
vehemence,  not  only  '  per  gloria,'  but  because  I  wanted  to  promote  this 
affair  of  the  government  of  Florence,  and  this  both  for  my  own  reputation 
and  also  in  order  to  have  things  my  own  way  and  to  gain  power.  And 
so  I  affirmed  that  Pisa  would  be  recovered.  So,  too,  I  was  not  really 
certain  that  I  could  work  a  miracle  or  supernatural  sign,  though  I  affirmed 
that  one  would  be  shown  at  the  proper  time  and  place. 

"  As  for  Fra  Silvestro's  visions,  I  did  not  really  care  about  them,  but  I 
pretended  to  do  so  because  they  seived  my  purposes.  And  if  his  visions 
suited  my  intentions  (mi  venivano  al  proposito)  I  would  ascribe  them 
to  myself."  ^ 

The  deposition  continues  for  some  time  in  this  strain,  but  it  is 

^  The  last  clause  is  printed  within  brackets  by  Villari  (p.  cl),  as  a  manifest 
interpolation  of  the  notary's.     But  the  same  might  probably  be  said  of  what  follows. 

^  This  is  one  of  the  instances  in  which  Vivoli  (or  Vivoli's  "Soffia")  declares 
that  Ceccone  has  maliciously  altered  the  record.  According  to  this  authority, 
what  Savonarola  really  said  was  to  this  effect:  "This  (question  about  prophecy) 
is  not  a  matter  which  concerns  the  civil  government  (non  e  caso  di  Stato) ; 
whether  I  am  a  true  prophet  or  not  God  will  show.  Other  prophets  have  been 
brought  to  a  worse  plight  than  that  in  which  I  now  am  "  [ibid.,  p.  cxviii).  Apart 
from  external  testimony,  the  weight  of  which  must  in  this  case  be  allowed  to 
be  considerable,  intrinsic  probability  is  all  on  the  side  of  the  answer  attributed 
to  Savonarola  by  Vivoli.  A  little  later,  when  once  more  questioned  about  his 
prophetic  mission,  Fra  Girolamo  is  said  to  have  replied:  "This  it  does  not 
concern  you  to  know.  Moreover,  if  I  say  Yes  {i.e.  that  I  am  a  prophet)  you  will 
not  believe  me,  and  if  I  say  No,  I  should  be  telling  a  falsehood."  Yet  again, 
Vivoli  declares  that  according  to  Geccone's  first  draft  of  the  process,  Fra  Girolamo 
said:  "Since  you  constrain  me.,  I  declare  that  God  speaks  to  me  by  word  of 
mouth  .  .  .  and  I  to  Him."  And  he  further  declared  that  God  appeared  to  him 
in  visible  form,  "e  che  egli  e  un  angelo."  And  yet  again  he  declared  that  God 
spoke  to  him  with  the  voice  of  a  man.  And  being  asked  in  what  form  God 
appeared  to  him,  he  repHed  :  "Like  a  boy  of  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  clad 
sometimes  in  white,  sometimes  in  red,  or  some  other  colour"  (p.  cxix).  Once 
more,  VivoH  accuses  Geccone  of  having  maliciously  suppressed  the  words  used 
by  Savonarola  in  speaking  of  his  work  of  moral  reformation:  "Let  it  be;  if  it 
be  of  God,  He  will-  give  a  manifest  sign  ;  but  if  it  be  of  man  it  will  fall "  (p.  cxx). 

'  That  he  actually  did  so  is  attested  by  Fra  Domenico.     {See  above,  p.  387). 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  413 

unnecessary  to  reproduce  the  whole  of  what  he  is  made  to  say,  for 
it  is  this  part  of  his  evidence  which  most  clearly  shows  the  manipula- 
tion of  the  notary.  At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  remembered  that, 
as  has  been  already  said,  even  Vivoli  and  Benedetto  agree  that 
Savonarola  freely  used  equivocation  in  speaking  of  his  visions;  and 
that  both  of  them  undertake  to  justify  him.*  That  he  showed 
considerable  vacillation  when  interrogated  on  this  subject  at  the 
later  stages  of  the  trial  is  beyond  dispute,  and  there  is  no  i  priori 
ground  for  asserting  with  confidence  that  he  showed  an  unshaken 
firmness,  even  at  the  outset,  in  the  maintenance  of  his  divine 
mission. 

The  deponent  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  his  political  action  in  the 
years  1494-95.  He  admits  that  he  favoured  the  establishment  of 
the  Great  Council,  the  law  of  appeal,  and  the  abolition  of  the 
Parlamento.  But  this  was  already  clear  from  his  published  sermons, 
and  his  alleged  admission  that  all  this  was  done  from  motives  of 
personal  ambition  deserves  no  credit.^  He  declares  that  it  was  he 
who,  against  the  wish  of  Valori,  procured  the  resignation  of  the 
Accoppiatori,  having  persuaded  Giuliano  Salviati,  and  afterwards 
Domenico  Bonsi,  to  set  an  example  to  the  rest  by  voluntarily 
laying  down  their  office. 

He  next  speaks  of  his  desire  that  Valori  should  gain  power,  for 
he  was  convinced  that  no  union  of  citizens  could  last  long  without  a 
head,  and  he  thought  no  man  more  suitable  for  a  chief,  "  maxime 
credendo  non  si  potere  fare  tyranno."  But  he  had  great  difificulty 
in  persuading  others  of  his  political  followers,  e.g.  G.  B.  Ridolfi,  the 
brothers  Salviati,  Luca  degli  Albizzi,  and  one  or  two  more,  to  accept 
Valori's  leadership.  His  idea  was  to  pave  the  way  for  a  constitution 
more  thoroughly  like  the  Venetian,  with  a  Doge  or  Gonfaloniere  for 
life.  This  was  the  position  which  he  had  hoped  to  gain  for 
Valori. 2  Nevertheless,  he  always  entertained  some  fear  lest  the 
chiefs  of  the  party  should  attempt  to  form  a  "governo  stretto,"  and 
for  this  reason  he  often  preached  against  this  kind  of  polity.  His 
plans   on    this   and   similar    matters,    however,  he   always   kept   to 

*  Vivoli,  loc.  cii.,  pp.  cxxii  ;  Benedetto,  p.  cxxxv,  pp.  cxxxvii  sqq. 

^  Here  again,  Vivoli  accuses  Ccccone  of  having  suppressed  Savonarola's 
assertion  (quite  inconsistent  as  it  is  with  the  alleged  admission  above  referred  to) 
tliat  "he  had  the  design  of  the  Great  Council  from  Him  who  speaks  to  him  in 
the  manner  aforesaid"  (p.  cxx). 

^  All  this  may  well  be  a  pure  invention  of  those  who  hated  the  memory  of 
Valori. 


414  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

himself,    or   spoke    of  them    only   to   his    most    intimate   friends, 
Domenico,  Silvestro,  and  Fra  Niccolb  da  Ivlilano. 

But  he  took  no  part  in  any  political  intrigues  ("  intelligentie") 
for  the  advance  of  any  party,  or  for  the  purpose  of  influencing  the 
elections.  He  merely  in  his  sermons  laid  down  general  principles  of 
government.  As  regards  the  details  of  politics,  he  considered  that 
laymen,  and  especially  Valori,  Soderini,  and  Ridolfi,  understood 
them  better  than  himself.  Indeed,  they  never  consulted  him  about 
details,  but  in  a  general  way  they  used  his  name  and  authority  to 
enable  them  to  carry  their  measures.  It  may  be  due  to  Ceccone 
that  he  is  made  to  say  that  in  all  this  he  had  a  great  regard  for  his 
own  reputation,  and  that  therefore,  when  there  was  any  business  to 
be  transacted  with  laymen,  he  for  the  most  part  employed  Fra 
Salvestro,  or  some  other,  keeping  in  the  background  himself.  So, 
too,  it  would  not  be  safe  to  lay  stress  on  the  admission  that  whereas 
many  came  to  S.  Marco  out  of  devotion,  many  also  came  from 
political  motives,  viz.,  that  they  might  be  known,  or  believed  to  be, 
adherents  of  "  the  Friar,"  and  thereby  advance  themselves. 

He  has  been  accustomed  to  use  as  intermediaries  Andrea 
Cambini,  Piero  Cinozzi,  Girolamo  Benivieni,  Francesco  Davanzati, 
Carlo  Strozzi,  and  two  or  three  others.  Nearly  all  his  dealings  with 
Valori  were  by  means  of  Cambini.^  The  chief  men  of  the  party 
were,  Valori,  Bonsi,  Gualterotti,  Ridolfi,  Soderini,  Mazzinghi,  and 
some  eight  or  ten  others  who  are  named.  The  names  of  their 
followers  may  be  found  in  the  paper  of  signatures  to  the  joint  letter, 
which  was  left  in  his  desk  at  S.  Marco. 

"  I  rarely  spoke  with  Valori,  but  he  constantly  sent  me  messages  by 
Cambini.  He  was  very  ambitious,  and  though  I  wished  him  to  have 
power,  I  was  distressed  at  his  rough  manners,  which  alienated  all  his 
friends  (che  era  huomo  da  scacciare  tutti  i  suoi  amici)." 

The  deponent  never  attempted  to  secure  the  election  of  any 
individual  citizen,  for  he  did  not  know  them  well  enough.  But  in  ' 
general  terms  he  preached  that  good  citizens  should  be  chosen. 
When,  however,  any  particular  person  was  recommended  to  him  by 
his  brethren  as  likely  to  be  favourable  to  the  cause  ("che  fusse  buono 
all  opera  nostra ")  he  would  take  occasion  to  speak  well  of  such  an 
one  to  the  citizens  who  frequented  S.  Marco.  And  so,  too,  he  would 
do  in  the  case  of  those  with  whom  he  was  personally  acquainted, 
Valori,  Soderini,  and  the  rest. 

*  This  is  entirely  confirmed  by  Canibini's  deposition  {see  above,  pp.  398  sqq,). 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  415 

The  only  occasion  on  which  he  remembers  to  have  more 
directly  sliovvn  favour  to  an  individual  candidate  was  when 
Francesco  Scarsi  (Scarfa?)  came  to  ask  for  prayers  that  he  might  be 
elected  one  of  the  Ten  ;  and  after  the  election  he  came  to  thank 
Fra  Cirolamo  for  the  prayers. 

To  the  question  what  correspondence  of  a  political  nature  he  had 
had  with  foreign  princes  or  lords,  Savonarola  replies : — 

"When  the  King  of  France  was  on  his  return,  I  wrote  him  three  or 
four  letters  exhorting  him  to  restore  what  belonged  to  Florence,  and  also 
to  come  back  to  Italy  ;  telling  him  that  if  he  did  not  do  this  it  would  fare 
ill  with  him.  I  sent  him  a  similar  message  through  Nicolao  Alamanni  on 
occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  France,  and  I  have  sent  sundry  messages  to 
the  same  effect  by  Frenchmen  who  passed  through  Florence  on  their 
return  to  their  own  country.  But  the  King  never  paid  any  attention  to 
these  messages,  nor  ever  sent  a  reply  by  letter  or  by  word  of  mouth.  So 
that  on  occasion  of  Alamanni's  later  journeys  I  sent  no  message  by 
him  ;  and  in  fact  I  did  not  trust  him,  nor  did  I  think  him  the  kind  of  man 
who  would  be  likely  to  have  access  to  the  King. 

"A  certain  Fra  Lodovico  once  came  to  me,  and  told  me  in  very  guarded 
language  that  the  Pope  wanted  the  Florentines  to  send  him  an  ambassador, 
or  to  write  him  'qualche  buona  lettera' ;  and  he  tried  hard  to  induce  me 
to  persuade  the  people  to  think  favourably  of  the  Pope  (et  molto  mi 
stringcra  affare  opera  che  il  populo  stesse  edificato  a  la  via  del  Papa).  I 
told  him  that  I  had  no  power  to  act  in  such  matters,  as  Lorenzo  or  Piero 
might  have  done,  and  I  referred  him  to  Franceso  Valori,  Piero  Filippo 
(Pandolfini),  and  Pagolo  Antonio  (Soderini) ;  and  after  that  I  heard  no 
more  of  him. 

"  Messer  Luisi  Tornaboni  once  suggested  to  me  to  enter  into  relalions 
with  the '  prefectissa '  of  Sinigaglia,  saying  that  this  lady  was  well  informed 
concerning  French  affairs.  Fearing  some  snare  (dubitava  dinganno,  sic) 
I  referred  him  to  Valori,  and  heard  no  more  about  it. 

"  When  the  Cardinal  of  Bourges  (Brissonnet)  passed  through  Florence 
I  spoke  to  him,  and  begged  him  to  solicit  the  king  to  return  to  Italy  and 
to  restore  her  possessions  to  Florence.  I  gave  a  like  message  to  Filippo 
Lorini  (mandai  F.  L.  in  Francia),  but  this  was  done  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  Ten  who  were  then  in  office. 

"  Carlo  Orsini  and  Vitellozo  {sic)  Vitelli,  on  their  return  from  France, 
called  at  S.  Marco,  and  urged  me  to  do  what  I  could  for  the  king.  They 
came  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  '  il  Signore  della  terra.'  I  told  them  that  I 
would  pray  for  the  king,  and  that  I  was  well  disposed  to  do  all  I  could 
for  him." ' 

Here  follow  some  paragraphs,  of  no  special  interest,  concerning 
Savonarola's  dealings  (i)  with  various  Frenchmen  and  Neapolitans, 

^  Villari,  he.  ciL,  pp.  clix  sqq. 


4i6  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

(2)  with  Messer  Dolce  da  Spuleto  (sic),  (3)  with  the  Count  Checcho 
da  MontedogHo,  and  (4)  with  Messer  Agamemnon  da  Marescotti, 
formerly  Podesta  of  Brescia.^  He  admits  that  at  the  instance  of 
Fra  Niccolb  da  Milano  he  interceded  with  Valori  on  behalf  of 
Ercole  Bentivoglio,  who  had  been  engaged  by  the  republic  as 
condottiere,  but  was  in  danger  of  losing  his  employment.  Details 
such  as  these,  though  not  of  great  importance,  are  at  least  not 
likely  to  have  been  invented  by  the  notary.^ 

"To  the  Dukes  of  Ferrara  and  Milan  I  have  written  on  spiritual 
matters  (circa  al  ben  vivere),  but  not  on  afiairs  of  policy.  Nor  did  I 
trouble  myself  about  the  employment  of  condottieri,  except  that  I  occasion- 
ally suggested  to  Valori  or  Mazzinghi  the  name  of  one  or  another,  ^.;^.  one 
of  the  d'Esti  of  Ferrara,  Christophano  da  Gonzaga,  and  one  of  the 
Rangoni  of  Modena.  But  this  I  did  in  quite  general  terms,  saying  : 
'  So-and-so  would  like  employment  (vorebbe  essere  conducto),  do  what 
you  think  best.' " 

After  another  paragraph  on  city  politics,  which  is  of  no  special 
interest,  the  deposition  proceeds : — 

"  As  for  my  alleged  disobedience  to  the  Pope,  and  my  refusal  to  go  to 
Rome,  my  reason  was  that  I  feared  that  I  should  be  killed  on  the  way,  or 
at  Rome,  either  by  (the  followers  of)  Piero  de'  Medici  or  by  (the  adherents 
of)  the  League  ;  for  I  was  hostile  to  their  designs. 

"  Concerning  the  excommunication,  I  say  that  although  many  believed 
it  to  be  of  no  effect,  nevertheless,  I  believed  it  to  be  valid,  and  that  it  ought 
to  be  respected  (da  observarla),  and  I  did  respect  it  for  awhile  ;  but 
afterwards,  seeing  that  my  work  was  going  to  ruin,  I  determined  to  resist 
it,  and  did  so  by  word  and  deed.  And  to  this  course  I  obstinately  adhered 
'  per  honore  et  riputazione  et  mantenimento  dell'  opera  mia.'  ^ 

"As  regards  the  sermon  on  Septuagesima,  nth  February,  I  declare 
that  I  waited  for  the  letters  of  Messer  D.  Bonsi — I  mean  those  which  he 
wrote  to  the  Signory  and  to  myself,  signifying  that  the  Pope  was  not 
disposed  to  allow  me  to  preach.  On  this  I,  of  my  own  accord,  and  because 
I  saw  that  my  work  was  being  spoiled,  determined  to  recommence  the 
sermons.  .  .  .  And  to  this  I  was  not  urged  by  any  of  the  citizens  in 
particular.  In  fact,  my  friends,  e.^.  A.  and  J.  Salviati  and  D.  Mazzinghi, 
were  opposed  to  this  (sene  dolsene,  sic).  It  is  true,  however,  that  some 
of  those  who  frequented  S.  Marco  used  to  ask  me  when  I  was  going  to 

1  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  clx  sqq. 

2  A  passage  about  Marcuccio  Salviati  and  Giovanni  della  Vecchia  has  been 
given  above  (p.  340,  note),  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

2  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  cxlii  sqq.  This  admission  would  be  important  were  it 
not  that  this  is  just  one  of  the  passages  in  which  there  is  only  too  much  ground 
for  suspecting  that  Ceccone  has  distorted  what  was  actually  said. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  417 

preach  again,  saying  that  they  were  dying  of  hunger  {i.e.  of  spiritual 
hunger).  And  I  remember  that  Jacopo  di  Dini  came  to  me  at  S.  Domenico 
{i.e.  at  Fiesole)  and  asked  me  when  the  benches  were  to  be  got  ready.  IJut 
I  would  not  tell  him  ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  my  habit  not  to  make  known 
beforehand  the  precise  day  on  which  I  proposed  to  preach. 

"  The  reason  why  I  left  S.  Liberata  the  second  day  in  Lent  was  not 
that  I  wished  to  obey  the  Pope,  but  for  fear  lest  I  should  be  killed,  and 
after  I  had  once  commenced  to  preach  (poi  che  io  fui  conducto  a  predicare) 
at  S.  Marco,  I  persevered  in  doing  so  notwithstanding  Ser  Alessandro 
Bracci's  letter  of  3rd  March.  .  .  . 

"As  touching  my  correspondence  with  ambassadors,  I  declare  that  I 
have  on  sundry  occasions  written  to  Giov;u  chin  Guasconi  urging  him  to 
urge  the  king  to  return  to  Italy  .  .  .  and  I  used  every  eftbrt  to  induce  him 
'che  dilk  tenesse  le  cose  calde'  ;  and  this  I  did  because  I  knew  that  Bishop 
Soderini  (of  Arezzo)  was  writing  in  a  contrary  sense  ('scriveva  freddo') 
.  .  .  Occasionally,  too,  Guasconi  wrote  to  me.  But  he  constantly  wrote  to 
his  son,  and  the  latter  would  show  me  the  letters,  and  I  would  advise  hira 
how  to  reply." ' 

He  has  had  two  letters  from  Bonsi,  one  of  warning  and  one  of 
reproof;  and  two  from  Bracci,  full  of  encouragement.  Moreover, 
the  last-named  ambassador  constantly  communicated  with  him 
through  his  son-in-law  Bastiano  da  Firenzuola  ("  et  tutto  si 
coniinciava  con  Francesco  Valori").  Ricciardo  Becchi  likewise 
wrote  to  his  brother  concerning  the  affairs  of  Fra  Girolamo,  but 
he  had  no  confidence  in  Messer  Ricciardo. 

The  deponent  next  speaks  of  a  foolish  plot,  or  rather  design, 
for  the  murder  of  Bernardo  del  Nero,  by  throwing  him  out  of  the 
window  of  the  Palazzo.  This  design  seems  to  have  had  its  origin 
in  a  revelation  which  the  reputed  prophetess,  Camilla  Rucellai, 
imagined  herself  to  have  received.  She  made  it  known  to  Fra 
Malatesta,  and  bade  him  consult  Savonarola,  who  replied  that  he 
ought  to  know  what  sort  of  an  answer  to  make  to  such  a  question. 
It  is  true  that  he  encouraged  his  political  friends  to  resist  any 
attempt  at  innovation  which  Bernardo  might  make  during  his  term 
of  office,  but  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  any  plot  for  his  murder. 

"With  Piero  de'  Medici  I  never  had  any  deahngs  (of  a  political 
character),  for  I  was  strongly  opposed  to  him  ;  and  .  .  .  when  the  King 
of  France,  on  his  return  from  Naples,  would  have  restored  him  'as  a 
citizen'  to  Florence,  I  urged  him  to  do  no  such  thing  (disputai  con  il  Re 
che  non  lo  facesse).  It  is  true  that  my  friend  I^ino  di  Dino  wrote  from 
Rome  that  Piero  was  minded  to  amend  his  life,  and  would  be  glad  of  my 
advice.     I  replied  that  Piero  was  seeking  to  implicate  me  in  his  affairs 

*  Villari,  loc.  cit. ,  pp,  clxiii  sy^. 
2  D 


4i8  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

(voleva  appicchare  la  pratica  tneco),  and  that  I  would  have  no  dealings 
with  him  beyond  prayer  for  him."  ^ 

On  another  occasion  some  one,  unknown  to  Fra  Girolamo,  came 
to  him  and  sought  to  interest  him  in  Piero's  welfare.  But  "  this 
nightbird  "  ("  questo  tale  nocturno")  came  only  once,  and  got  no 
answer  but  that  Fra  Girolamo  did  not  think  that  Piero  would  ever 
return.  Nor  had  he  ever  any  dealings  with  the  Cardinal  de'  Medici, 
except  once  about  some  matter  of  property.  The  following  sentence, 
which  can  hardly  be  other  than  genuine,  is  worthy  of  note  : — 

"  I  declare  that  if  Piero  had  returned,  I  would  have  told  him  what  I 
had  said  in  my  sermons  (about  him,  and  would  have  said)  :  '  I  did  it  for  a 
good  purpose,  and  at  a  time  when  you  were  not  in  power  ;  had  you  been 
in  power  I  would  not  have  preached  against  you,  but  would  have  spoken 
of  vice  in  general  terms.""' 

After  one  or  two  passages  concerning  Pisa,  and  about  other 
matters  of  minor  importance,  Savonarola  is  made  to  say  that  in 
his  expressions  concerning  the  turning  of  the  key,  and  the  opening 
of  the  casket,  his  object  had  been  to  strike  terror  into  his  adversaries  ; 
that  his  alleged  vision  in  the  octave  day  of  the  Anunciation  had 
been  a  mere  invention,  which  he  had  concocted  "stando  nella  libreria 
greca  di  S.  Marco  "  ;  that  his  intention  in  seeking  the  separation  from 
the  Lombard  Congregation  had  been  to  secure  greater  liberty  for 
himself;  and  that  various  alleged  visions  and  dark  sayings  of  his 
had  been  pure  inventions.  On  such  points  as  these  it  is  obviously 
impossible  to  feel  any  confidence  that  his  words  have  been  correctly 
reported. 

As  for  his  prediction  that  "  many  barbers,"  or  barbarians,  should 
come  to  invade  Italy,  that  the  Church  should  be  renovated,  and  the 
Turks  converted,  these  things  he  believes  to  be  true,  because  he 
finds  ground  enough  for  such  predictions  in  Holy  Scripture ;  but  he 
has  had  no  special  revelation  on  the  subject.  So  at  least  he  is  made 
to  declare. 

"The  'subscription,'  or  joint  letter,  drawn  up  at  S.  Marco  was  not  of 
mv  contriving.  It  was  set  on  foot  by  my  brethren  ;  but  I  was  pleased 
with  it,  for  it  both  testified  and  promoted  union  among  the  citizens."  ^ 

"  It  occasionally  happened  that  Fra  Silvestro  made  known  to  me  the 
names  of  the  newly-elected  Signory  before  they  were  made  public.     But 

»  Villari,  loc.  cit.,  p.  clxv.  ^  /^/^_^  p.  clxvi.  '  Ibid.,  p.  clxix. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  419 

he  did  not  tell  me  from  whom  he  had  them  ;  and  I  did  not  make  much 
account  of  the  matter."  ' 

He  comes  now  to  the  all-important  question  of  the  part  whicli  he 
had  taken  in  endeavouring  to  secure  the  assembly  of  a  General 
Council.  And  here  there  seems  to  be  little  reason  to  suppose  that 
his  evidence  has  been  tampered  with.  At  any  rate,  the  account  of 
the  matter  which  he  gives  is  tolerably  plain  and  straightforward. 

"  I  declare  that  I  felt  great  indignation  against  the  Roman  court, 
because  they  had  persecuted  me  for  having  reproved  them  ;  and,  more- 
over, by  reason  of  their  vicious  life,  I  was  minded  to  endeavour  to  procure 
the  calling  of  a  Council.  Accordingly,  I  had  determined  to  cause  five 
letters  to  be  written  by  various  persons  whereby  five  kings  should  be 
exhorted  to  take  this  matter  in  hand.  The  tenor  of  these  letters  was  as 
follows  :  That  it  seemed  right  that  the  sovereign  princes  should  be  in- 
formed of  the  state  of  affairs  here  ;  that  there  was  a  preacher  here  who 
predicted  things  to  come,  and  deplored  the  vices  of  the  Church,  and 
declared  that  he  could  confirm  his  conclusions  by  valid  reasons  ;  that  this 
preacher  had  himself  written  a  letter  to  the  Pope  (a  copy  of  which  letter 
may  be  found  in  my  desk,  or  else  Fra  Niccolo  da  Milano  has  it)  ;  and 
that  they,  being  the  heads  of  Christendom,  ought  to  make  provision  for  the 
redress  of  such  abuses,  and  to  convoke  a  Council.  These  letters  [to  be 
written  by  other  persons  at  Fra  Girolamo's  suggestion]  were  intended  to 
prepare  the  minds  of  the  kings.  But  I  had  also  determined  to  write  to 
each  of  them  myself  to  the  same  effect.  And  I  had  already  prepared  a 
rough  draft  of  the  letters,  which  ought  to  be  in  my  desk  ;  and  in  each  of 
them  was  to  be  enclosed  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  I  had  written  to  the 
Pope.  The  kings  to  whom  I  had  written  these  letters  were :  the  Emperor, 
the  King  of  France,  the  King  of  Spain,  the  King  of  England,  and  the 
King  of  Hungary.  I  employed  Giovanni  Cambi  to  write  to  the  Emperor. 
Domenicho  Mazzinghi  was  to  write  in  his  own  name  to  Giovachin 
Guascon  (sic),  a  letter  which  was  to  be  shown  to  the  king  of  France  ; 
Simone  del  Nero  was  to  write  to  his  brother  Niccolo,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  King  of  Spain  ;  the  affair  of  the  English  letter  was  entrusted  to 
Francesco  del  Pugliese,  who  had  an  English  friend  at  Florence  whom  he 
was  to  persuade  to  write  ;  and  the  letter  intended  for  Hungary  I  sent  to 
Madonna  la  Minuta  at  Ferrara,  and  to  a  friend  of  mine  there.  The 
drafts  of  these  various  letters  I  sent  to  the  several  persons  named  by 
means  of  Fra  Niccolo  da  Milano,  and  I  suppose  he  still  has  copies 
of  them."  2 

After  a  few  words,  probably  distorted  by  the  notary,  concerning 
the  motives  which  had  led  to  the  writing  of  these  letters,  the  deponent 
proceeds  to  say  that  among  his  own  brethren  no  one  knew  of  the 

*  Villari,  /oc.  cit.,  p.  clxx.  '^  Ibid.,  pp.  clxx  sqq. 


420  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

afiFair  except  Salvestro,  Domenico,  and  Niccol5  da  Milano.  Among 
the  laity,  besides  the  persons  ah-eady  named,  no  one  knew  of  it 
except  Girolamo  Benivieni. 

Then  comes  a  passage  in  which  he  is  made  by  Ceccone  to  say 
that  his  purpose  was  "to  do  great  things  in  Italy,  and  beyond 
Italy,  with  the  help  of  the  princes  (Signori)  with  whom  I  had  made 
friends."  The  Council  having  done  its  work,  he  would  have  exhorted 
these  princes  "  to  conquer  the  infidels  (a  soggiogare  glinfedeli)." 
As  for  making  himself  Cardinal  or  Pope,  he  had  no  great  mind  for 
that  ;  for  if  he  should  succeed  in  carrying  through  so  great  a  work 
without  being  either  Cardinal  or  Pope,  he  would  be  the  first  man 
in  the  world.  If,  indeed,  he  had  been  chosen  Pope  he  would  not 
have  refused  the  oflSce  ;  but  to  carry  such  a  work  into  effect  was  a 
greater  thing  than  to  be  Pope,  "  for  a  man  devoid  of  virtue  can  be 
Pope  ;  but  such  a  work  requires  a  man  '  di  excellente  virtu.'  "^ 

It  is  certainly  true  that  he  employed  a  great  many  confessors 
at  S.  Marco,  and  strongly  exhorted  men  to  confession,  and  was 
glad  to  see  a  great  concourse  of  people  thus,  but  quite  untrue  that 
he  sought  to  know  what  had  been  told  in  confession. 

"  As  to  the  ordeal  by  fire,  I  declare  that  I  deeply  regretted  (hebbi  per 
male  molto)  Fra  Domenico's  action  in  provoking  the  affair,  and  I  would 
have  paid  a  great  sum  rather  than  that  he  should  have  done  it.  I  was 
grieved  too  that  my  friends  urged  the  matter  on.  [If  I  consented  to  it  I 
did  so  for  the  defence  of  my  honour.]  Had  I  been  preaching  at  the  time 
I  should  have  done  my  best  to  put  a  stop  to  the  business  by  showing  that 
the  '  conclusions' could  be  proved  by  natural  reasons.  And  I  reproved 
Fra  Domenico  for  having  thus  brought  me  into  a  position  of  great 
difficulty  and  danger.  However,  in  the  end  I  consented  [in  order  not  to 
lose  my  reputation]  ;  but  I  always  said  that  we  undertook  this  ordeal  as 
men  who  had  been  challenged.  I  fully  believed  that  the  Franciscan 
would  not  enter  the  fire,  and,  if  he  did  not  enter  it,  our  man  would  not  be 
bound  to  go  in.  But  if  he  should  go  in,  our  man  would  have  to  go  in  too. 
And  so  I  wished  that  he  should  go  in  with  the  Sacred  Host,  in  the  hopes 
that  this  would  save  him  from  being  burnt ;  and  except  under  this 
condition  I  would  not  have  allowed  him  to  go.  This  point  I  discussed  on 
two  occasions,  before  the  day  of  the  Cimento,  with  G.  B.  Ridolfi.  Ridolfi 
told  me  the  Franciscan  would  never  go  in,  and  that  is  what  I  myself 
believed."  2 

He  then  tells  how  he  had  taken  measures  to  make  the  arrange- 

*  Villari,  loc,  cit.,  pp.  clxxi.  sqq. 

*  Il/id.,  pp.  clxxii.  sqq.     We  have  bracketed  two  clauses  as  presumably  spurious. 


EXAMINATION   OF  SAVONAROLA  44t 

ments  as  terrible  as  possible,  in  order  that  the  Franciscan  might  be 
frightened.  He  would  not  indeed  have  allowed  that  his  friends 
should  interrupt  the  proceedings,  for,  had  he  done  this,  he  must  have 
lost  all  his  reputation  by  showing  that  he  was  afraid  of  the  ordeal ; 
but  his  chief  hope  (il  mio  principale  fondamento)  was,  that  the 
Franciscans  would  be  afraid,  and  he  did  his  best  to  secure  this. 

Vivoli  is  at  great  pains  to  show  that  Fra  Girolamo's  words  on  this 
subject  have  been  misreported.  He  declares  that,  in  his  genuine 
replies  to  the  interrogatory,  Fra  Girolamo  had  declared  his  unshaken 
conviction  that  Domenico  would  not  have  been  burnt ;  that  he  came 
to  the  ordeal  with  the  full  determination  to  see  it  through  ;  and  that 
his  intention  had  been,  not  indeed  to  allow  the  Franciscan  to  be 
burnt  to  death,  but  to  let  him  have  a  good  roasting  {^^  lasciario  un  po^ 
cuocere  ").^  It  is  plain  enough  that  the  full  truth  on  this  subject  can 
never  be  ascertained,  and  quite  uncertain  how  far  Savonarola's 
dislike  of  the  whole  affair  really  made  him  doubtful  of  the  result. 

At  the  close  of  this  first  process  occurs  what  professes  to  be  a 
copy  of  Savonarola's  attestation  that  all  that  is  above  written  is  true. 
But  Benedetto  explicitly  affirms  that  his  genuine  subscription  con- 
tained a  protest  against  the  "  postille  "  which  had  been  added  by  the 
hand  of  Ser  Ceccone.^  In  addition  to  which  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  published  deposition  is  not  a  faithful  copy,  but  a  summary 
made  "  in  fretta  fretta  "  of  that  garbled  document  which  he  thus 
signed  under  protest.  At  the  same  time,  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
repeat  once  more  that  even  these  enthusiastic  admirers  of  one  whom 
they  regarded  as  a  prophet  and  a  martyr  do  not  maintain  that  the 
deposition  as  a  whole  is  a  pure  and  simple  forgery  ;  and  there  are 
plenty  of  statements  occurring  therein  which  afford  no  ground  what- 
ever for  suspecting  any  substantial  alteration  of  the  deponent's  words. 

The  second  process,  which,  as  has  been  said,  adds  nothing  of  im- 
portance to  the  tirst,  and  which  would  only  weary  the  reader,  need  not 
here  detain  us.  It  may  be  found,  by  any  one  who  cares  to  look  for 
it,  in  Villari.  The  third  examination,  however,  viz.  that  which  was 
conducted  by  Romolino  as  papal  commissary,  has  a  more  tragic 
interest.  It  differs  from  the  two  earlier  processes  in  that  it  is  given  in 
the  form  of  question  and  answer ;  and  this  renders  easier  its  re- 
production in  a  condensed  form. 

The  ghastly  details  concerning  the   application   of  the  torture 

'  Vivoli,  ibid.^  pp.  cxx  sqq.  *  Benedetto,  ibid.^  p.  cxxxvi. 


452  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

which  occur  in  this  third  process  are,  indeed,  such  as  we  would 
wiUingly  omit.  But  were  we  to  pass  them  over  in  silence,  we  should 
rightly  be  held  to  have  failed  to  give  a  plain,  unvarnished  account 
of  the  records  which  have  come  down  to  us.  The  particulars  of  an 
examination  under  torture  must  of  necessity  be  gruesome ;  but  we 
who  live  in  a  milder  and  happier  age  must  be  on  our  guard  against 
charging  with  personal  inhumanity  every  one  who  was  concerned  in 
the  administration  of  a  system  which,  to  us^  appears  simply  abhorrent. 
The  principles  which  underlay  and  were  supposed  to  guide  the 
application  of  torture  were  these  : — 

(i)  That  no  man  could  be  legally  convicted  until  he  had  con- 
fessed his  guilt ;  a  principle  derived  from  the  Roman  law. 

(2)  That  in  the  interests  of  thecommon  weal  it  was  eminently 
desirable,  in  the  case  of  a  grave  criminal  charge,  to  elicit  not  merely 
a  general  avowal  of  guilt,  but,  as  far  as  possible,  the  whole  truth. 

(3)  That  the  only  sure  means  of  eliciting  the  whole  truth  was  the 
use  of  torture.     But 

(4)  That  torture  could  be  applied  to  an  accused  person  only 
when  there  was — in  the  language  of  the  courts — a  semi-plena  probatio 
of  his  guilt,  i.e.  when  his  guilt  was  already  established  by  circum- 
stantial evidence.  Moreover,  it  could  then  be  inflicted  only  under 
certain  restrictions — which,  it  must  be  confessed,  were  not  always 
observed — as  to  the  degree  of  severity  which  might  be  exercised. 
Savonarola  himself,  we  repeat,  had  gone  out  of  his  way  to  advocate 
in  the  pulpit  the  use  of  torture.  On  the  hypothesis  of  his  guilt,  which 
his  examiners  considered  as  established  by  notorious  facts,  he  was 
being  treated  in  accordance  with  his  own  principles. 

After  a  recital  of  the  names  and  titles  of  the  commissaries  and 
their  assessors,  the  document  proceeds : — 

Messer  Francesco  Romolino  above  named  asked  by  word  of  mouth  : 
Is  all  that  you  have  said  and  confessed  to  my  lords  here,  and  to  which 
you  have  put  your  name,  true  ?     And  did  you  confess  it  sine  tortiira  ? 

Savonarola  :  It  is  true.^ 

^  The  actual  record  gives  question  and  answer  in  the  third  person,  and  in  the 
narrative  form.  In  reproducing  the  substance  of  it  we  have  adopted  that  of 
direct  dialogue.  As  regards  the  question:  "Did  you  confess  sine  tortttra?"  it 
must  be  remembered  that,  in  the  language  of  the  courts,  a  confession  was  said  to 
have  been  made  ^^  sine  torttira"  provided  that  the  deponent  subsequently  ratified 
what  had  first  been  extorted  from  him  by  rope  or  rack.  This,  Savonarola  had, 
under  protest,  and  with  limitations,  already  done.  But  once  more  Ceccone 
suppresses  the  protest  which  Fra  Girolamo  made  (now  as  before)  against  the 
garbling  of  his  deposition, 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  423 

R.  As  regards  these  matters,  have  you  had  any  dealings  with  other 
ecclesiastical  persons  besides  those  named  in  your  confession  ? 

S.  Having  repented  of  my  sins,  1  now  declare  in  God's  presence — and 
may  He  strike  me  dead  if  I  do  not  tell  the  truth — that  I  never  com- 
municated these  things  to  any  one  except  the  three  Friars,  Domenico, 
Salvestro,  and  Niccolo.  Though  I  did  not  venture  to  hope  with  con- 
fidence that  I  could  bring  about  the  Council,  I  strove  to  do  so,  but  I  never 
confided  my  designs  to  any  but  these  three,  and  to  the  persons  whom  I 
charged  to  write  the  letters,  to  whom  I  communicated  the  matter  "  in 
confession." 

R.  Have  you  had  any  dealings  with  princes  ;  and  which  of  them  did 
you  trust,  and  why  ? 

S.  I  had  no  dealings  with  any  of  the  princes  of  Italy,  because  I 
regarded  them  all  as  my  enemies.^  But  I  had  some  hopes  of  the  King  of 
France,  because  I  had  spoken  with  him  ;  and  of  the  Emperor,  because 
I  had  heard  that  he  could  easily  be  won  over  ;  and  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
because  I  had  heard  that  he  was  hostile  to  the  Court  (of  Rome)  and  to 
its  abuses  ;  and  of  the  King  of  England  (Henry  VII.),  because  I  had 
heard  that  he  was  a  good  man.  Of  the  King  of  Hungary  I  knew  nothing. 
But  my  chief  hopes  were  in  the  three  first  named. 

R.  What  Cardinals  were  your  friends,  and  what  dealings  have  you  had 
with  them  ? 

S.  I  considered  the  Cardinal  of  Naples  as  my  friend,  but  I  did  not 
place  much  confidence  in  him.  For  although  it  was  by  his  means  that 
we  obtained  the  separation  from  Lombardy,  yet  this  was  brought  about  at 
the  instance  of  I'iero  de'  Medici.  Subsequently,  after  Piero's  departure, 
I  understood  that  he,  and  the  Cardinal  his  brother,  had  prejudiced  him 
(Caraffa)  against  me.  Of  late,  I  have  had  no  dealings  with  him  nor  with  any 
other  Cardinal.  Jacopo  Mannelli  assured  me  that  the  Cardinal  of  Lisbon 
was  well  disposed,  but  I  had  no  dealings  with  him.  Nor  did  I  ever  treat 
with  M.  Filino  (Sandeo)  for  he  was  hostile  to  me,  as  you  may  learn  from 
the  Ferrarese  envoy,  and  from  Ser  Alessandro  (Bracci). 

R.  Did  Fra  Domenico  or  Fra  Salvestro  reveal  to  you  matters  heard 
in  confession  ? 

S.  No  ;  and  in  fact  Domenico  used  not  to  hear  confessions. 

R.  And  what  about  your  non-observance  of  the  excommunication  ? 

S.  Herein  I  sinned,  and  I  pray  for  mercy. 

R.  Did  you  say  that  the  Pope  was  not  a  Christian,  had  not  been 
baptised,  and  was  no  true  Pope  ? 

S.  I  never  said  so,  but  I  had  in  my  cell  a  letter  which  I  had  written, 
in  which  this  was  said.    But  I  never  published  it,  and  have  burned  it.- 

Having  commanded  that  he  should  tell  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 

^  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  lie  would  have  made  an  exception  in  favour  of 
Ercole  d'Este  of  Ferrara. 

-  He  had,  however,  given  copies  of  it  to  Ma/zinghi  and  ihe  others  wlioin  he 
had  employed  to  write  the  letters  which  have  already  been  mentioned. 


424  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

but  the  truth,  Romolino  ordered  that  he  should  be  stripped  for  the  rope. 
He  then,  overcome  by  fear,  threw  himself  on  his  knees  and  said,  "  Now, 
hear  me.  O  God  Thou  hast  caught  me  (tu  mi  ha  colto),  I  confess  that  I 
have  denied  Christ,  I  have  told  lies.  My  Lords  of  Florence,  bear  me 
witness  that  I  have  denied  Him  for  fear  of  the  torture  ;  if  I  must  suffer, 
I  will  sufter  for  the  truth  :  that  which  I  have  said  I  have  had  from  God. 
O  God  grant  that  I  may  repent  of  having  denied  Thee  for  fear  of  the 
torture.  I  deserve  it."  Then  he  was  stripped  ;  and  once  more  he  knelt 
down  .  .  .  and  repeatedly  said  :  "  I  have  denied  Thee,  O  God,  from  fear 
of  the  torture."  Being  drawn  up  (by  the  rope)  he  cried  :  "  Jesus,  help 
me  !  this  time  Thou  hast  caught  me." 

Being  asked,  as  he  hung  by  the  rope,  why  he  had  spoken  thus,  he 
replied  :  "  That  I  might  be  thought  a  good  man  (per  parere  buono).  Do 
not  torment  me,  I  will  tell  you  the  truth,  for  sure,  for  sure." 

The  answer,  "per  parere  buono,"  is  certainly  obscure  in  its 
context.  The  idea  seems  to  be  that  Fra  Girolamo  admitted  that  he 
had  made  false  statements  under  stress  of  torture,  in  the  hope  that 
the  torture  would  not  be  applied  again  ;  but  that,  this  device  having 
failed,  he  had  now  tried  to  make  his  judges  believe  that,  being  a  man 
inspired  by  God,  they  ought  not  to  lay  hands  on  him.  But  Fra 
Benedetto  declares,  as  the  reader  may  remember,  that  this  part  of 
the  process  has  been  shamefully  distorted,  and  that  Savonarola,  at 
the  outset,  maintained  with  great  constancy,  and  not  "with  great 
fear,"  the  truth  of  his  revelation. 

R.  Why  did  you  just  now  deny  what  you  had  confessed  ? 

S.  Because  I  am  a  fool. 

Being  let  down,  he  said  :  "  When  I  see  the  tortures,  I  lose  my  self- 
control  (mi  perdo)  ;  but  when  I  am  in  a  room  with  a  few  men  who  deal 
peaceably  with  me  I  can  express  myself  better." 

R.  The  process  which  has  been  drawn  up,  is  it  true  ? 

S.  It  is  all  true  ;  and  I  will  ever  confess  it  to  be  so. 

R.  Why,  then,  did  you  just  now  deny  it  ? 

S.  I  said  it  because  I  thought  you  would  perhaps  be  afraid  to  lay 
hands  upon  me. 

This  answer  confirms  the  explanation  suggested  above.  It  is,  how- 
ever, an  explanation  rather  of  what  the  compilers  of  the  report  wished 
its  readers  to  believe,  than  of  what  Savonarola  actually  said.  As  to 
his  actual  words  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  be  certain. 

R.  Did  Fra  Salvestro  reveal  men's  confessions  to  you  ? 
S.  Never,  in  detail  ;  but  it  may  be  that  in  general  terms  he  has  told 
me  something  which  he  has  heard  in  this  way,  but  without  ever  saying 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  4^5 

that  it  was  so.  For  the  rest,  in  order  to  know  the  affairs  of  Florence, 
there  was  no  need  that  Salvesiro  should  reveal  men's  confessions,  for  I 
had  other  means  of  knowing  all  that  went  on. 

R.  How  so  ? 

S.  Especially  by  means  of  Salvesiro,  who  had  many  dealings  with  the 
citizens,  by  whose  means,  apart  from  confession,  he  could  learn  what 
was  passing.  Yet  I  did  not  confide  much  in  Salvestro,  nor  even  in 
Domenico,  in  such  matters,  for  they  were  apt  to  betray  secrets  ;  especially 
Fra  Salvestro,  who  was  very  talkative  (molto  largo),  and  whom  I  regarded 
as  an  inconsiderate  and  not  a  very  good  man  ;  whereas  I  believed 
Domenico  to  be  good  and  sincere.  I  was  myself  the  greatest  sinner 
among  them.  .  .  . 

The  last  two  questions  and  answers  seem  to  call  for  a  word  of 
comment.  Lest  it  should  be  concluded  from  them  that  the  revela- 
tion of  sins  declared  in  sacramental  confession  was  regarded  as  per 
se  antecedently  probable — which  it  was  certainly  not — it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  a  specific  accusation  on  this  head  had  been  made  against 
Savonarola  by  his  enemies.  That  this  calumny  had  been  diligently  cir- 
culated in  Rome  and  at  Milan,  and  probably  elsewhere,  appears  from 
the  fashion  in  which  Burchardus  and  Sanudo  refer  to  the  matter  in 
their  respective  diaries,  viz.  as  a  thing  about  which  there  could 
be  no  dispute.^  It  is  probable  enough  that  RomoHno  was  unduly 
credulous,  and  that  he  really  suspected  Fra  Girolamo  of  this 
sacrilegious  wickedness.  And  this  is  enough  to  account  for  the 
question  having  been  asked,  and  for  its  repetition,  in  a  modified  form, 
a  little  later  in  the  examination.  As  regards  Savonarola's  answer,  it 
might  be  enough  to  say  that  we  do  not  really  know  what  answer  he 
really  made.  But  if  he  really  said,  as  Ceccone  reports,  that  Salvestro 
might  have  told  him  (not  that  he  had  told  him)  in  general  terms 
matters  which  he  had  learned  in  confession,  then  we  must  under- 
stand the  matters  in  question  to  have  been,  not  the  individual  sins 
of  individual  sinners,  but  such  general  circumstances  as,  for  instance, 
the  prevalence  of  this  or  that  vice  in  the  city.  In  the  absence  of  any 
shred  of  real  evidence  we  should  be  sorry  to  charge  the  memory  of 
Salvestro  with  so  much  as  the  suspicion  that  he  was  ever  guilty  of 
such  imprudence.  But  Fra  Girolamo  may  have  thought  him  capable 
of  it.  We  repeat,  however,  that  no  one  knows  what  Fra  Girolamo 
actually  said  on  the  subject.  This  much,  however,  we  do  know,  viz. 
that  the  expression  "  in  confession "  was  habitually  used  by  Fra 
Girolamo  and  his  companions  in  a  very  loose  and  inaccurate  sense, 

'  Burchardus,  Diaritim,  Roiiianum  (Ed.  Tluuisae),  ii.  73  ;  Sanudo,  Diario 
Veneio,  iv.  279. 


426  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

as  covering  even  political  secrets  communicated  "in  confidence." 
But  to  return  to  the  interrogatory,  as  reported  by  the  notary  : — 

R.  Have  you  in  your  sermons  used  vituperative  language  concerning 
the  Pope  ? 

S.  I  have  never  spoken  of  the  Pope  by  name,  but  I  have  made  use  of 
such  expressions  as  to  make  it  evident  that  I  alluded  to  him. 

R.  Is  it  true  that  you  did  not  observe  the  excommunication  ? 

S.  It  is  true. 

R.  Is  it  true  that  Domenico  and  Salvestro  used  to  reveal  confession 
one  to  another? 

S.  Domenico  did  not  hear  confessions  and  therefore  could  not  reveal 
them.  But  it  is  true  that  sometimes  he  pumped  (stuzzicava)  Salvestro  to 
get  secrets  out  of  him,  though  he  never  asked  him  in  so  many  words  to 
reveal  matters  of  confession,  for  this  would  have  been  to  betray  himself.^ 

R.  Did  you  write  letters  in  contempt  of  the  Pope,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  a  Council  ? 

S.  I  did  not  write  such  letters,  but  I  induced  others  to  write  them. 
But  it  is  only  recently  that  I  have  thought  of  this  matter.  It  was  not 
others  who  instigated  me  to  this,  it  was  I  who  instigated  them. 

R.  What  good  did  you  think  you  would  do  ?  And  did  you  not  see  what 
a  scandal  you  would  cause  ? 

S.  It  was  all  the  result  of  my  pride  and  my  folly. 

R.  Did  you  cause  dissensions  in  the  city  by  your  preaching  ;  and  did 
you  favour  your  own  faction  ? 

S.  It  is  true  that  I  favoured  my  own  party  ;  but  I  never  encouraged 
murder. 

R.  What  about  the  five  citizens  who  suffered  death  last  August  ? 

S.  I  was  content  that  they  should  be  punished  with  death  or  exile  ; 
but  I  did  not  interfere  in  the  matter, beyond  interceding  with  Valori,  though 
not  very  warmly  (ma  freddamente),  on  behalf  of  Lorenzo  Tornabuoni. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  examination  before  the  Papal  Com- 
missioners, Savonarola,  being  asked  concerning  the  truth  of  what  he 
had  heretofore  confessed,  is  said  to  have  replied  to  the  following 
effect. 

"  Monsignore,  what  I  said  yesterday  by  way  of  denial  (of  my  former 
admissions)  I  said  like  a  man  beside  himself  (passionate),  and  because  I 
wished  to  extricate  myself  from  such  an  extremity  of  distress  (da  una  gran 
briga)  ;  for  these  bodily  sufferings  are  such  that  the  very  sight  of  them 
affects  me  more  than  tortures  of  the  rope  would  affect  another  man.  All 
that  was  written,  and  that  I  signed,  at  my  first  and  second  examinations 
was  true  ;  and  I  have  to  thank  my  fellow-citizens  that  they  dealt  mildly 
with  me  ;  and  if  at  the  outset  I  did  not  tell  the  truth,  this  was  because  I 

^  Some  questions  on  matters  all  of  slight  importance,  or  on  matters  already 
dealt  with,  are  here  omitted,  and  will  be  omitted  hereafter. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SAVONAROLA  427 

wished  to  conceal  my  pride.  But  seeing  how  gently  they  dealt  with  me 
I  determined  to  tell  the  whole  truth.  ...  I  have  been  a  wicked  man, 
and  now  I  wish  to  clear  my  conscience,  and  will  declare  everything  as 
fully  as  I  can." 

This  alleged  speech,  it  may  be  observed,  carries  on  its  very 
surface  the  marks  of  falsification  ;  for  in  the  published  examination  it 
is  precisely  at  the  outset  that  Savonarola  most  explicitly  admits  his 
"  pride  "  ;  and  the  fulsome  flattery  of  those  who  had  dealt  so  "  t^ently" 
with  him  is  in  fiat  contradiction  with  what  the  notary  had  set  down 
a  few  pages  previously,  viz.  that  when  he  was  stripped,  by  order  of 
Romolino,  he  showed  his  left  arm  which  had  been  rendered  power- 
less ("guasto")  by  the  violence  of  the  torture.  It  was  just  in  the 
case  of  a  comparatively  long  address  like  this  that  Ser  Ceccone  had 
the  fullest  scope  for  the  exercise  of  a  talent  which  seems  to  have 
been  as  clumsily  as  it  was  maliciously  used.  No  wonder  that,  as 
Burlamacchi  and  Landucci  relate,  this  infamous  notary  was  mulcted 
of  more  than  nine-tenths  of  his  promised  pay.^ 

R.  What  dealings  have  you  had  with  women  as  concerning  their 
supposed  revelations  ? 

S.  At  first  I  used  to  converse  with  women,  and  learned  things  from 
them,  which  I  afterwards  put  forth  as  revelations.  But  of  late  I  have 
avoided  all  intercourse  with  them.  The  persons  from  whom  I  had 
such  things  were  Ma.  Vaggia  Bisdomini,  Ma.  Camilla  Ruciellai,  Ma. 
Bartolomea  Gianfigliazi,  but  to  the  last  named  I  paid  little  heed,  for  she 
seemed  to  me  mad. 

R.  Is  it  true  that  you  made  your  brethren  hear  confessions,  and  absolve 
and  communicate  the  faithful,  notwithstanding  the  excommunication,  and 
that  you  allowed  those  who  had  been  excommunicated  on  your  account 
to  die  (without  being  reconciled  to  the  Church)  ? 

S.  It  is  true. 

Once  more  he  is  asked  "  con  minaccie  di  fune  "  concerning  the 
affair  of  the  Council,  being  urged  to  tell  the  whole  truth.  Then, 
says  the  record,  he  exclaimed  : — 

"  O  Brother,  to  what  a  pass  art  thou  come  !  "  And  he  began  to  weep 
and  mourn,  and  to  say  :  "When  I  think  how  I  came  to  enter  on  this 
affair,  I  cannot  but  grieve  over  it  ;  and  I  know  not  how  I  came  to  begin 
it,  but  it  seems  to  me  like  a  dream."  And  then  he  began  to  tell  the  story 
as  follows  : — 

"This  matter  of  the  Council  I  began  to  take  in  hand  not  more  than 
three  months  ago.  .  .  .     And  when  I  began  to  consider  how  I  sliould 


1  He  had  been  promised  400  ducats,  but  received  only  30,  or,  as  Fra  Benedetto 

says,  33  (Villari,  ii.  204).     _ 


426  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

bring  it  about,  I  said  to  myself :  I  cannot  gain  over  Italy  ;  at  Venice  I 
have  no  interest  ;  Naples  is  weak  ;  the  Florentines  are  divided  ;  the 
Cardinals  are  not  to  be  trusted,  they  would  reveal  everything  to  the 
Pope.     And  so  I  looked  beyond  Italy  to  France,"  etc. 

He  then  speaks  of  the  attempts  which  he  made  to  enter  into 
relations  with  the  Cardinal  of  San  Piero  in  Vincoli  (della  Rovere) 
and  the  Bishop  of  S.  Malo  (Brissonet),  but  to  Httle  purpose.  He 
knew  neither  of  them  personally.  He  had  some  hopes  of  the 
Cardinal  of  Naples,  and  had  written  to  him  in  the  hopes  of  gaining 
his  goodwill  as  a  first  step,  but  not  explicitly  about  the  Council. 
Moreover,  he  had  held  some  conversation  with  one  Michelangiolo 
da  Orvieto,  a  dependant  of  his,  about  the  prospects  of  a  Council. 
He  had  also,  through  Bracci  and  his  son-in-law,  Ser  Bastiano,  had  a 
letter  from  Napoli  urging  him,  in  general  and  guarded  terms,  "  to 
kindle  the  fire."  Here— obviously  with  the  design  of  implicating 
Caraffa  in  the  business— he  was  either  threatened  with  the  rope,  or 
actually  tortured  again,  but  nothing  further  could  be  got  from  him 
on  the  subject,  or  at  least  nothing  of  any  importance.  The  remain- 
ing questions,  with  their  replies,  are  of  no  special  interest.^ 

1  Dr  Schnitzer  {H.P.B.  cxxv.  272)  argues  that  if  Savonarola's  dealings  with 
foreign  princes,  and  his  efforts  to  secure  the  calling  of  a  Council,  had  been  the 
real  gravamina  against  the  Friar,  the  falsification  of  the  evidence  would  have  been 
purposeless.  This,  we  venture  to  think,  is  not  so.  The  falsification  of  the  evidence, 
wicked  and  inexcusable  as  this  was,  would  seem  to  have  had  for  its  aim,  not  the 
securing  of  a  verdict  from  the  judges,  but  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  who  cared 
little  about  points  of  constitutional  law  and  practice,  and  who  might  easily  be 
moved  to  a  revulsion  of  feeling  in  Savonarola's  favour  unless  they  could  be 
persuaded  that  their  former  hero  had  been  wilfully  deceiving  them  by  his  alleged 
prophecies. — Needless  to  say,  we  have  been  taken  severely  to  task  for  making  use 
of  the  "  worthless  "  examination  of  Fra  Girolamo.  Having  given  our  reasons  (above, 
p.  407)  for  thinking  the  document  not  altogether  worthless,  we  cannot  again 
discuss  the  question.  We  may  observe,  however,  that  Mr  Armstrong  [C.M.H. 
i.  182)  takes  substantially  the  same  view  of  the  value  of  the  depositions  as  that 
which  we  have  expressed.  He  also  {ibid.^  p.  188)  gives  a  wise  caution  against  an 
indiscriminating  condemnation  of  all  who  at  the  critical  moment  deserted  the 
Friar  and  took  sides  with  his  enemies. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE   END 

"'TT^HE  vain  efforts  of  the  Papal  commissaries,"  says  Villari,  "had 
X.  only  succeeded  in  making  more  evident  the  innocence 
of  Savonarola."  For  our  part,  we  cannot  take  this  view  of  the 
matter.  They  had  not,  indeed,  drawn  from  him  any  confession 
that  he  had  formally  taught  heretical  doctrine.  And  no  wonder; 
for  among  those  who  had  either  heard  or  read  his  sermons,  there 
could  be  no  question  as  to  the  orthodoxy  of  his  ordinary  dogmatic 
teaching.^  When  he  was  asked  whether  he  had  professed  or  inculcated 
this  or  that  error  on  points  of  faith,  his  answer  was,  that  to  suspect 
him  of  such  absurdities  was  to  charge  him  with  being  a  fool. 
Whether  his  admission — made,  retracted,  and  made  again — that  he 
had  fraudulently  usurped  the  name  and  office  of  a  prophet,  or  again 
his  persistent  refusal  to  submit  the  exercise  of  his  alleged  prophetic 
mission  to  the  judgment  of  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  could  rightly 
be  regarded  as  amounting  to  constructive  heresy,  and  as  deserving 
of  the  penalty  of  death  even  in  accordance  with  the  jurisprudence 
of  the  age,  may  be  called  in  question ;  though  it  would  seem  that 
these  things  were  in  fact  so  regarded  under  stress  of  the  strong 
feelings  which  prevailed  at  the  time.  But  on  one  point — or  rather  on 
two  points  very  closely  connected  with  each  other — there  can  be  no 
doubt  whatever.  He  had  endeavoured  to  procure  the  deposition  of 
the  Pope,  by  means  of  a  General  Council,  to  be  convoked  by 
temporal    sovereigns ;    and   herein    lay  the    head  and  front  of  his 

*  The  doctrinal  orthodoxy  of  Savonarola  was  declared  by  the  commission 
appointed  to  examine  his  works  in  1554  under  Paul  IV.  The  Dyalogus  de 
Vtritate  Prophetica  was  indeed  placed  on  the  Index  ("  donee  corrigatur"),  together 
with  some  fifteen  of  Savonarola's  sermons  ;  not,  however,  as  containing  heretical 
doctrine.  Prof.  Armstrong  writes :  ''  The  '  Dialogus '  substituted  for  authority 
a  subjective  system  which  might  be  applied  equally  well  to  doctrine  or  to  dis- 
cipline" (E.H.R.  xvi.  146);  words  of  which  we  will  only  say  that  they  show 
how  readily  the  Dialogue  lends  itself  to  misapprehension  at  the  hands  of  a  quite 
impartial  reader.     See  also  infra,  p.  441. 


430  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

offending.!  This  being  so,  it  seems  to  us  to  be  a  mere  perversion 
of  the  truth  to  say,  with  Villari,  that  the  result  of  the  trial  from  its 
inception  to  its  close  had  been  to  bring  the  innocence  of  Savonarola 
into  an  even  clearer  light.  The  Papal  commissioners  sat  to  try, 
not — in  the  first  instance — his  conscience,  but  his  acts.  His 
acts  might  be  viewed  by  them  as  contravening,  if  not  the  letter, 
at  least  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  Bull  Execrabilis  of  Pius  II., 
which  explicitly  condemns  an  appeal  from  the  Pope  to  a  General 
Council.2  And  therefore  they  might  be  regarded  as  involving 
constructive  heresy  and  schism,  as  well  as  "  contempt  of  the  Holy 
See,"  the  three  counts  on  which  the  sentence  was  explicitly  based.' 
Savonarola  would  of  course  have  said  that  in  fact  his  conduct 
involved  no  such  contravention  of  the  Bull ;  that  Pius  II.  speaks 
of  an  appeal  from  a  lawful  Pope,  but  that  Alexander  was  not  a 
lawful  Pope  ;  that  his  simoniacal  election  had  been  invalid  from 
the  outset,  and  that  it  could  be  only  provisionally  revalidated 
by  his  subsequent  recognition  at  the  hands  of  Christendom; 
and  finally,  that  his  unchristian  life,  subsequently  to  his  election, 
amounted  not  merely  to  constructive  heresy,  but  to  constructive 
infidelity.*  Every  student  of  ecclesiastical  history  is  aware  that  in 
1505  Julius  II.,  the  all  but  immediate  successor  of  Alexander  VI., 
decreed  by  his  Bull,  Cum  tarn  divino,  that  for  the  time  to  come  a 

1  Cum  ill  ea,  quam  dedi,  vita  P.  Hieronymi  Savonarolae  {i.e.  Burlamacchi's) 
legatur,  intentatam  fuisse  adversus  ilium  capitis  causam  quod  seculares  Principes 
ad  procurandum  generale  concilium  adversus  Alexandrum  VI.  per  liter  as  in- 
stigasset"  etc.  So  writes  Mansi  (in  Baluze,  Misscellanea,  i.  583),  and  although 
he  is  professedly  giving  the  view  of  Burlamacchi,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he  himself 
regarded  this  as  the  main  charge  against  Savonarola.  Mansi  was  Archbishop  of 
Lucca  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

2  "  Execrabilis,  et  pristinis  temporibus  inauditus  tempestate  nostra  inolevit 
abusus,  ut  a  Romano  Pontifice,  Jesu  Christi  Vfcario  .  .  .  noniiuUi  spiritu  re 
bellionis  imbuti  ...  ad  futurum  Concilium  provocare  praesumant,"  etc. 
{Bullarium  Romanunt,  Ed.  Coquelines,  v.  97).  The  Bull  is  dated  28lh  January 
1459.  Dr  Schnitzer  {H.P.B.  cxxv.  274)  points  out  that  Savonarola's  attempts  to 
secure  the  convocation  of  a  Council  were  not  in  the  nature  of  an  "appeal "  (in  the 
technical  sense),  as  to  "a  court  of  higher  instance."  This  is  true;  afid  the 
expressions  used  in  text  (above)  have  been  modified  in  deference  to  Dr  Schnitzer's 
criticism  of  the  passage  as  it  stood  in  the  first  edition. 

''"(Furono)  dannati  tutti  a  tre  per  heretici,  scismatici,  et  contemptori  della 
Sede  Apostolica  "  (The  Ten  to  Bonsi,  23rd  May  1498  ;  Marchese,  p.  191). 

*  Cf.  the  expressions  used  of  a  simoniacally  elected  Pope  in  the  Bull  Cum  tarn 
divino  to  be  presently  quoted.  On  Savonarola's  opinion  concerning  the  "  in- 
fidelity "  of  Alexander,  Dr  Grauei  t  has  written  at  some  length  in  the  Wissenschaft- 
liche  Beilage  zur  Ger mania,  30lh  June  1898,  pp.  308  si/(j. 


THE  END  431 

simoniacal  election  to  the  Papacy  should  be  regarded  as  ipso  facto 
invalid,  and  incapable  of  revalidation  by  mere  course  of  time  or 
recognition.  1  There  can  be  no  question  that  this  Bull  had  its  origin 
in  the  sad  memory  of  the  scandalous  election  of  Alexander.  Unless 
we  carefully  distinguish  between  resistance  to  a  lawful  Pope,  and 
resistance  to  one  who  is  at  least  believed  to  be  an  intruder,  it 
will  be  impossible  to  excuse  the  conduct  of  Julius  II.  himself  when, 
as  Cardinal  Giuliano  della  Rovere,  he  did  his  best  to  procure  the 
deposition  of  Alexander  VI.  Lest,  however,  we  should  be  mis- 
understood, we  hasten  to  say  that  the  case  of  Savonarola  is  not  on 
the  same  footing  with  that  of  the  Cardinal,  as  we  shall  presently 
point  out  in  detail.  It  is  true  that  the  decree  is  not,  formally, 
retrospective  in  its  operation ;  it  lays  down  the  law  "  in  posterum," 
and  is  silent  about  the  past ;  and  it  may  be  objected  that  it  is  pre- 
posterous (in  the  etymological  sense  of  the  word),  to  cite  in  support 
of  Savonarola  a  Bull  which  was  issued  seven  years  after  his  death.^ 
It  has,  however,  been  recently  urged  by  Dr  Hermann  Grauert,  that 
the  decree  Cum  ta^n  divino,  ought  to  be  regarded  rather  in  the 
light — practically,  though  not  formally— of  an  authoritative  ratifica- 
tion of  a  pre-existing  law,  or  again,  as  establishing  the  correctness  of 
an  opinion  already  current,  though  not  prevalent,  among  canonists 
and  theologians  as  to  the  nullifying  effects  of  a  simoniacal  election 
to  the  Papacy.*  We  do  not  feel  by  any  means  convinced  that  Dr 
Grauert  is  right,  or  that  the  opinion  in  question  was  well  grounded. 
But  it  was  actually  held,  as  Dr  Grauert  has  shown,  by  distinguished 
writers,  whose  good  faith  it  would  be  absurd  to  call  in  question.* 

1  By  this  Bull  it  is  decreed  that  if  "quod  Deus  pro  sua  dementia  .  .  .  avertat," 
any  one  should  hereafter  be  simoniacally  elected  Pope,  "de  simoniaca  labe  a 
quocumque  Cardinali,  qui  eidem  election i  interfuerit  opponi  at  excipi  potest,  sicut 
de  vera  et  indubitata  haeresi,  ita  quod  a  nulla  pro  Romano  Pontifue  kabeatur  .  .  . 
et  idem  electus,  non  Apostolicus,  sed  apostaticus  .  .  .  habeatur."  And  the  next 
paragraph  sets  forth  that:  "Nee  hujusmodi  simoniaca  electio  per  subsequentem 
ipsius  inthronizationem,  sen  iempoHs  cursum,  aut  etiam  omnium  Cardinalium 
adorationem,  sen  obedientiam,  ullo  unquam  tempore  convalescat"  {Bullanum, 
V.  263). 

-  "Man  braucht  mithin  gar  keine  canonistischen  Studien  gemacht  zu  haben, 
um  einzusehen,  dass  vor  dem  Erlass  Julius  II.  ein  canonisches  Gesetr,  welches 
eine  simonistische  Papstvvahl  ftir  ungiltige  erklartc,  nicht  in  Kraft  war.  Die 
simonistische  Wahl  Alexanders  VI.  im  Jahre  1492  war  mithin  zweifellos  giltig " 
(Pastor,  Beurtheihotg,  p.  15). 

"  Grauert,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  306  sqq. 

*  The  points  of  Dr  Graucrt's  argument  .are  briefly  these  :  (i)  Nicholas  II.,  who 
in  1059  established  the  principle  that  the  Pope  henceforth  should  be  elected   by 


432  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

Nor  is  there  any  reason  that  we  can  see  why  it  might  not  be  held 
in  good  faith  by  Savonarola. 

Of  this  possibility,  however,  the  papal  commisoaries  could  not 
be  expected  to  take  account.  The  currency  of  such  opinions,  and 
of  others  more  directly  in  conflict  with  the  teaching  of  the  Bull 
Execrabilis,  only  made  the  action  of  Savonarola  more  dangerous. 
Moreover,  even  if  it  were  tenable  as  an  opinion  that  Alexander  was 
not  per  se  a  lawful  Pope,  he  was  certainly  entitled  to  be  treated  as 
such  by  the  faithful  at  large,  and  by  private  individuals,  so  long  as 
he  was  in  actual  and  undisturbed  possession  of  the  Holy  See ;  and 
so,  in  fact,  Savonarola  had  treated  him  for  several  years.  Nor  could 
Savonarola,  as  a  private  individual,  be  canonically  justified  in  raising 
the  standard  of  revolt,  however  much  an  error  of  judgment  might 
excuse  him  before  God.^  It  was  not  for  him,  or  for  any  other 
irresponsible  person,  to  take  the  initiative  in  a  movement  which 
might  have  so  seriously  compromised  the  unity  of  Christendom.  It 
is  particularly  noteworthy  that  even  the  Bull  Cum  tarn  divino  by  no 
means  leaves  it  open  to  all  and  sundry  to  raise  objections  against  the 
validity  of  a  papal  election.  By  the  words  "a  quocumque  Cardinal! 
qui  eidem  electioni  interfuerit  opponi  et  excipi  potest,"  the  right  of 
raising  a  protest  is  strictly  limited  to  the  Cardinals,  and  even  among 
them  it  is  restricted  to  those  who  have  been  present  at  the  election.  It 
is  obvious,  then,  that  even  had  the  decree  been  in  force  in  Savonarola's 

the  Cardinals,  and  by  them  alone,  issued  a  further  decree  by  which  (according 
to  Grauert)  a  simoniacal  election  was  declared  to  be  invalid.  Father  Emil 
Michael,  S.J.  (in  Zeitschr.f.  kath.  TheoL,  1896,  p.  705)  takes,  however,  a  different 
view  of  the  matter.  (2)  It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  decree,  Licet  de  vitanda, 
of  Alexander  III.  (1179)  declared  even  a  simoniacal  election  to  the  Papacy  to  be 
valid,  provided  the  choice  were  made  by  a  two-thirds  majority  among  the  Cardinals. 
This  interpretation  of  the  decree  Dr  Grauert  rejects.  (3)  In  fact,  he  says,  the 
opinions  of  medieval  theologians  and  canonists  were  divided.  The  prevalent 
opinion  (viz.  that  such  an  election  would  be  valid)  was  maintained  by  Augustus 
Triumphus,  Turrecremata,  and  de  Tudeschis  (Panormitanus),  and  has  quite  recently 
been  sustained  by  Dr  Schnitzer  (Schnitzer,  pp.  477  sqq.).  But  Hostiensis  (Henry  of 
Susa,  Cardinal  Bishop  of  Ostia)  and  Johannes  Andrea  oppose  it.  Grauert  writes  : 
"  Flir  mich  unterliegt  cs  nicht  die  mindesten  Zweifel  das  diese  Ausfiihrungen  der 
grossen  Canonisten  des  13  und  14  Jahrhunderts  {i.e.  Hostiensis  and  Andreae), 
den  Sinn  der  Decretale  Licet  de  vilatida  und  die  dabei  massgebende  Absicht 
Alexanders  HI.  richtig  darstellen  "  (Grauert,  pp.  307-8). 

1  "  Profecto  sicut  nee  Alexandrum  excusaverim  de  nimia  in  vitia  {sic)  licentia 
,  .  .  ;  ita  neque  Hieronymum  commendaverim,  quod  cum  privaius  fuerit,  nimio 
studio  vitia  Principis  emendandi  et  castigandi  rapi  se  usque  eo  permiseiit" 
(Mansi,  p.  583). 


THE  END  433 

lifetime,  it  would  have  afforded  him  no  justification  for  his  action. 
Once  more,  the  only  ground  on  which  he  can  be  excused  is  that 
of  an  error  of  judgment  of  a  very  serious  kind. 

In  the  eye  of  the  law,  then,  and  in  the  judgment  of  the  papal 
commissaries,  Savonarola's  guilt,  in  respect  of  the  main  charge 
against  him,  was  abundantly  proved,  and  the  commissaries  passed 
sentence  accordingly.  Could  they  have  done  otherwise  ?  Of  course 
it  is  easy  for  a  man  living  in  our  own  days  to  flatter  himself 
that  he,  wise  with  the  superior  wisdom  of  the  twentieth  century, 
would  have  acted  very  differently ;  that  he  would,  as  a  mere  matter 
of  course,  have  lifted  up  his  voice  against  the  wicked  Pontiff,  and 
would  have  told  him  to  his  face  that  if  Savonarola  had  been  guilty 
of  contumacious  disobedience,  or  even  of  a  treasonable  or 
schismatical  plot,  it  was  he  who,  by  the  shameless  intrigues  which 
had  led  to  his  election,  and  by  the  flagrant  scandals  of  his  life  as 
Pope,  had  provoked  the  disobedience,  and  invited  the  treason ; 
and  that  his  duty  now  lay,  not  in  the  execution  of  justice,  but  in 
the  exercise  of  mercy,  and  in  the  self-humiliation  of  the  Christian 
penitent.  But  can  we  be  quite  sure  that  it  even  as  much  as  crossed 
the  mind  of  Torriano  or  of  Romolino  that  this  was  the  wiser  and 
the  better  course  to  take  ?  Can  we  be  even  quite  sure  that  it  would 
have  been  wiser  and  better  for  them  thus  to  protest  against  the 
sentence  which  they  were  bidden  by  the  Pope  to  pronounce  ? 
When  Agnolo  Niccolini  pleaded  for  a  sentence  of  perpetual  imprison- 
ment rather  than  of  death,  and  when  his  colleagues  urged  that  amid 
the  rapid  changes  of  government  the  life  of  such  a  prisoner  would 
be  a  standing  menace  to  the  peace  of  the  city,  can  we  be  quite  sure 
that  the  arguments  in  favour  of  capital  punishment  did  not  outweigh 
the  promptings  of  mercy  in  the  judgment  of  those  to  whom  the 
peace  of  the  Church  was  of  immeasurably  greater  moment  than  the 
peace  of  Florence  ?  Personally  innocent  of  any  grave  sin  as  we 
believe  Savonarola  to  have  been,  we  do  not  venture  to  condemn 
his  judges  without  distinction.  That  some  of  them  were  not  merely 
men  of  abandoned  lives,  but  men  who  would  stick  at  no  crime  for 
the  gratification  of  their  political  hatred  we  readily  admit.  Such 
men  may  perchance  have  been  found  among  the  judges  who  con- 
demned Bernardo  del  Nero  to  the  gallows.  But  just  as  there  were 
good  men,  and  among  them  Savonarola  himself,  who,  though  they 
were  not  dead  to  all  feelings  of  humanity  nor  ignorant  of  the  claims 
of  mercy,  were,  nevertheless,  content  that  Bernardo  should  expiate 

2   E 


434  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

by  torture  and  death  his  plot  against  the  Florentine  constitution,  so 
there  were,  if  we  mistake  not,  good  men  who  deemed  that  Fra 
Girolamo  was  justly  condemned  for  his  attempt  to  overturn  the 
constitution  of  the  Church,  and  believed  that  the  principle  snlus 
populi  suprema  lex  required  that  the  sentence  on  him,  and  even  on 
his  companions,  should  be  carried  out. 

What  has  been  here  said  does  not  of  course  justify  all  the 
assertions  made  or  all  the  expressions  used  in  the  letter  given  below, 
wherein  the  Pope  is  informed — professedly  by  Torriano  and  Romolino 
— of  the  results  of  the  trial.  With  every  allowance  for  credulity  as 
regards  alleged  facts,  for  excitement  as  palliating  the  use  of  vituperative 
laniiuage,  and  for  the  usual  turgidity  of  the  curial  style,  this  letter 
must  be  pronounced  a  lamentable  document ;  and  we  can  only 
venture  to  suggest  either  that  it  is  a  forgery  (which  we  would 
gladly  believe),  or  that  it  may  perhaps  have  been  the  work  of 
Romolino  and  not  of  his  colleague.  In  the  form  in  which  it  has 
come  down  to  us  it  bears  no  signature  ;  and  the  whole  manner 
of  the  letter  is  so  unlike  that  of  numerous  others,  undoubtedly 
written  by  Torriano,  which  have  been  published,  that  our  surmise 
appears  to  us  to  be  not  altogether  groundless.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  document,  beyond  the  use  of  verbs  in  the  plural  number 
("scribimus,"  etc.),  that  could  be  urged  as  proving  it  to  be  a 
joint  production,  and  not  merely  the  account  given  by  one  of 
the  commissaries  of  their  joint  proceedings.  We  give  the 
substance  of  it  for  what  it  is  worth,  adding  at  the  foot  of  the 
page  a  few  comments  of  our  own. 

2yd  May  1498  ;  Torriano  and  Romolino  to  the  Pope.' — After 
some  prefatory  matter,  the  letter  sets  forth  that  :  "  We  examined  the 
three  Friars,  one  after  another,  and  learned  that  they  had  all  of  them 
fallen  into  errors  than  which  none  greater  could  be  expressed.  First  of  all, 
Fra  Hieronymo  avowed  that  for  fourteen  years  he  had  never  made  a 
sincere   confession   of   his   sins,    and,   nevertheless   (imo   tanto   magis), 

^  "Joach.  Turrianus,  Ordinis  Prsedicatorum  Magister  Generalis,  et  Franciscus 
Romolinus  J.U.D.  ad  Alexandrum  Papam  Sextum  de  Fratre  Hieron.  Savonarola 
et  complicibussuis."  The  letter  is  given  in  Meier,  pp.  389  sgq. :  "  Nach  einen 
Mst.  in  der  Bibliothek  des  verst.  Grafen  Bontourlin  zu  Florenz."  It  is  also 
found  in  a  little  booklet  of  four  leaves  printed  in  1521  ("  Romae  in  campo  Fluro," 
sic),  itself  probably  a  reprint  from  an  earlier  edition,  containing  a  "Dialogue" 
concerning  Savonarola,  and  also  a  letter  from  the  Pope  to  Lionello  Chieregato, 
Bishop  of  Concordia  (2nd  April  1498),  commending  him  for  having  preached 
"adversus  falsum  et  perniciosum  dogma  iniquitatis  filii  fratris  Hieronymi" 
(Gherardi,  p.  16,  n.  37). 


THE  END  435 

continued  to  celebrate  Mass.'  Moreover,  he  declared  that  he  had  taken 
measures  that  Fra  Silvestro  and  many  other  Friars  of  the  same  Order 
should  hear  confessions,  and  report  to  him  what  they  had  heard,  and  that 
he  afterwards,  both  publicly  in  the  pulpit  and  in  private  conversation, 
inveighed  against  the  sins  thus  made  known  to  him.'"'  These  things  he 
pretended  to  have  learned  by  a  divine  revelation.  Moreover,  he  has 
been  guilty  of  crimes  so  enormous  (tanta  scclera  et  detestanda  flagitia 
perpetravit)  that  it  does  not  seem  right  to  make  them  known  at  present 
(nondum  dicenda  videantur).  He  confessed,  moreover,  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  sedition  among  the  citizens,  of  scarcity  of  provisions,  and 
thereby  of  deaths  among  the  poor,  and  of  the  slaughter  (caedes)  of  many 
citizens  of  rank.3  He  declared  also  that  he  had  abused  the  Sacraments 
of  the  Church."-' 

The  writer  goes  on  to  speak  of  Savonarola's  contempt  of  the 
excommunication,  his  communicating  the  faithful,  and  of  his 
having  persuaded  many  excommunicated  persons,  even  at  the  hour 
of  death,  not  to  seek  absolution  from  the  sentence  which  they 
had  incurred,  assuring  them  that  such  penalties  were  invalid,  and 
that  whoever  thought  otherwise  was  himself  guilty  of  horrible 
heresy.^ 

"  He  has  confessed  also  that  by  letters  and  messages  he  has  sought 
to  incite  many  Christian  princes  to  a  schism  against  your  Holiness. 
Moreover,  to  such  a  pitch  of  wickedness  did  this  friar,  or  rather  this 

1  The  real  basis  of  this  assertion  is,  that,  when  asked  whether  he  had  declared 
certain  matters,  which  he  did  not  regard  as  sinful,  in  confession,  Savonarola  had 
answered  "No."  In  allusion  to  which  point  "the  Prophet"  asks,  in  Fra 
Benedetto's  dialogue  :  "  Et  dove  si  truova  che  1'  huomo  sia  tenuto  ad  confessarsi 
del  bene  et  delle  cose  che  non  sono  peccato  ? "  It  must,  however,  be  admitted 
that  Fra  Girolamo  had  given  some  occasion  for  a  misunderstanding  of  his  own 
words,  for,  being  further  interrogated  how  it  was  that  he  had  not  confessed  these 
thinc^s,  he  replied  :  "When  a  man  has  lost  the  faith  he  does  not  care  what  he 
does  (non  si  cura  come  I'anima  sua  vada) "  ;  words  which,  according  to  Benedetto, 
are  to  be  understood  as  a  perfectly  general  statement,  intended  for  the  special 
benetit  of  Ser  Ceccone,  but  naturally  interpreted  as  a  damning  admission.  (See 
Benedetto  in  Villari,  /oc.  cit.,  p.  cxliii). 

2  For  this  statement  there  seems  to  be  no  excuse  whatever ;  for  Fra  Girolamo 
had,  even  according  to  the  garbled  process,  stoutly  denied  the  charge  which  he 
is  here  alleged  to  have  admitted. 

^  The  only  foundation  for  this  seems  to  be  Savonarola's  admission  that  he  had 
not  raised  any  protest  against  the  execution  of  Bernardo  del  Nero  and  his 
companions. 

*  This  charge  may  have  reference  to  Savonarola's  action  on  more  than  one 
occasion  in  making  the  consecrated  Host  an  instrument,  as  it  were,  by  which 
to  confirm  the  truth  of  his  prophetic  utterances.     Sec  above,  pp.  283  sqq, 

^  See  above,  p.  280. 


436  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

nefarious  monster  (omnipedum  nequissimum),  proceed,  that  all  his  appear- 
ance of  goodness  was  but  a  pretence  and  a  cloak  for  ambition,  and  for 
his  desire  to  attain  to  worldly  glory.  He  has  been  wont  to  turn  to  the 
crucifix  and  say  to  our  Lord  :  '  If  I  He,  Thou  liest.'  In  a  word,  such  is 
the  enormity  of  his  crimes  that  the  hand  shrinks  from  writing  them,  and 
the  mind  from  thinking  of  them. 

"  As  for  Era  Domenico,  he  had  frequently  dared  to  say  in  the  pulpit 
that  the  angels  would  fall  from  heaven  sooner  than  that  anything  pre- 
dicted by  Fra  Hieronymo  should  not  come  to  pass  (prius  .  .  .  casuros, 
quam  quicquam  .  .  .  non  adimpletum  iri).  And  he  used  to  call  on 
God,  and  express  the  wish  that  if  he  lied  he  might  be  hung  with  a  halter 
and  his  body  be  reduced  to  ashes,  and  cast  to  the  winds  and  waves. 
We  pass  over  the  errors  of  which  this  friar  might  have  been  the  occasion 
when  he  wished  to  enter  the  fire  carrying  the  Body  of  Christ." 

The  writers  then  go  on  to  relate  how,  after  a  very  few  questions, 
the  friars  having  ratified,  "authentice  et  sponte,"  what  they  had 
previously  confessed,  they  were  degraded,  handed  over  to  the  secular 
arm,  and  put  to  execution. 

For  this  letter,  or  rather  for  considerable  portions  of  it,  we  can 
offer  no  excuse.  It  is  not  merely  that  no  allowance  is  made  for  the 
possibility  of  delusion,  and  that  language  of  unmeasured  harshness 
is  employed  throughout,  but  Fra  Hieronymo  is  represented  as 
having  admitted  what  he  certainly  denied,  viz.  that  he  had 
habitually  made  use  of  knowledge  gained  through  the  confessional, 
and  that  he  had,  of  set  purpose,  laid  himself  out  to  gain  such 
knowledge.  For  such  a  wilful  perversion  of  the  truth  no  palliation 
appears  to  be  possible. 

Nevertheless,  although  the  letter  embodies  at  least  one  grave 
calumny,  it  also  contains  much  that  is  true.  And  the  truth  was 
sufficient,  on  Savonarola's  own  principles,  to  justify  the  sentence 
passed  upon  him.  As  for  his  two  companions,  we  can  only  regret 
that  the  notion  of  complicity  in  the  minds  of  the  commissaries 
appears  to  have  been  so  vague  that  it  was  taken  to  cover  the  case,  not 
merely  of  Salvestro,  but  also  of  that  manifestly  well-meaning  though 
misguided  man,  Domenico  da  Pescia. 

After  the  fullest  consideration  of  the  whole  circumstances  of  the 
case  we  are  unwilling,  on  the  mere  ground  of  the  sentence— apart 
from  the  letter  wherein  it  is  recorded— to  condemn  Savonarola's 
judges.  Every  one  will  now  concur  in  the  wish  that  mercy  could 
have  been  shown.  But  the  exercise  of  the  prerogative  of  mercy 
lay,  not  with  the  judges,  but  with  their  master,  Alexander  VL 
Luke  Wadding,  the  author   of  the   Annal&s   Minorum,    speaks  of 


THE  END  437 

Savonarola  as  a  man  "dignus  profecto,  uti  ego  .  .  .  non  temere 
conjicio,  qui  honorificentiori  fine  religiosae  conversationis  cursum 
terminaret";  and  again  as  "solo  fortassis  vehementis  zeli  nimio 
ardore  ultra  mctas  evectus."  Yet  this  same  writer,  in  the  very 
same  section  of  his  Annals,  quotes  with  approval  the  high  encomium 
passed  upon  Savonarola's  judge  Torriano  in  the  chronicles  of 
his  own  Order.i  Our  own  deliberate  opinion  is,  that  while 
Savonarola  ought  to  be  acquitted  on  the  charge  of  having  sinned 
grievously,  it  is  also  right  to  refrain  from  charging  his  judges  with 
the  guilt  of  judicial  murder,  or  even  (considering  the  circumstances 
of  the  time),  from  that  of  excessive  cruelty  ;  always  bearing  in  mind 
that  they  acted  under  command  of  the  Pope.  As  for  the  Pope 
himself,  we  are  willing  to  believe  that,  had  Fra  Girolamo  and 
his  companions  been  sent  to  Rome,  the  sentence  of  death 
might  not  improbably  have  been  commuted  for  one  of  imprison- 
ment. But  the  Florentines  having  refused  to  send  them  thither 
—and  this,  as  it  would  seem,  in  accordance  with  Savonarola's 
own  desire— we  cannot  be  surprised  that  Alexander  should  have 
directed  that  the  law  should  take  its  course,  even  as,  with 
Savonarola's  tacit  approval,  the  law  had  taken  its  course  in  the 
case  of  Bernardo  del  Nero.^ 

Our  readers  will,  we  trust,  be  thankful  if  we  pass  rapidly  over  the 
closing  scene.  Shattered  by  the  repeated  tortures  which  he  had 
undergone,  his  soul  was  yet  strong  in  His  strength  who  is  the 
support  of  the  downcast ;  and  he  had  spent  the  weary  days  which 
elapsed  between  his  second  and  his  third  examination  (25th  April 
to  20th  May),  days  of  solitary  and  rigorous  confinement,  in  well- 
nigh  uninterrupted  prayer.  His  very  beautiful  meditations  on  the 
Psalms,  "  Miserere  "  (Ps.  li.),  and  "  In  te  Domine  speravi  "  (Ps.  xxx.), 
composed  during  his  imprisonment,  and  the  "  Rule  of  a  Christian 
Life "  which  he  drew  up  for  the  use  of  his  gaoler,  are  a  touching 

1  "Joachimus  Turrianus  qziem  dukissimum  et  humanissimum  fuisse,  in 
bem'gnitale  et  caritate  Ordinem  gubernasse,  niilli  tnohstum  nisi  malis,  boms 
omnibus  boniim,  et  cum  magna  Ordinis  vicestitia,  qui  Patrem  Fralrum  se  arnisisse 
dolebat  decessisse  ciiVLiOi  e]mAQm.  Ordinis  [i.e.  Privdicatorum]  chronica  recensent" 
{Annales  Minonuii,  vol,  xv.  s.a.  1498,  n.  22,  p.  163.  The  italics  are  Wadding's, 
but  serve  only  lo  indicate  a  quotation  embodied  in  the  text.) 

2  Mansi  {loc.  cit.)  suggests  that  Alexander  ''  causationem  aliquam  pnttendin 
potuit  extremum  supplicium  in  Savonarolam  decernendi."  Our  own  view  is,  on 
this  pnrticular  point,  more  favourable  to  the  Pope. 


438  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

record  of  his  thoughts  and  aspirations  during  that  time  of  tribulation. 
His  last  sleei),  during  the  night  which  preceded  his  execution,  was 
taken  with  his  head  resting  on  the  knees  of  one  of  the  members  of 
the  pious  confraternity  of  the  Battuti,  whose  office  it  was  to  assist 
the  dying.  After  a  brief  interval  of  this  peaceful  repose  he  once 
more  rose  to  pray,  and  at  daybreak  he  received  at  his  own 
hands  the  Holy  Communion,  and  communicated  his  two  com- 
panions. Having  been  kept  apart  since  the  night  of  their  arrest, 
six  weeks  before,  they  had  been  allowed  an  interview  on  the 
previous  evening,  and  now  they  met  again  for  the  last  consolations 
of  religion. 

Admonished  that  the  time  for  the  execution  had  arrived,  the 
three  came  forth  to  die.  From  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  a  long  narrow 
platform  extended  across  the  Piazza  towards  the  Tetto  de'  Pisani. 
It  terminated  in  a  circular  scaffold  heaped  high  with  the  fuel  that 
was  to  consume  the  dead  bodies  of  the  condemned  men.  Above 
the  pile  of  wood  rose  the  gibbet  with  its  three  halters. 

"  On  the  marble  terrace  of  the  Palazzo  were  three  tribunals  ;  one  near 
the  door  for  the  Bishop  (Pagagnotti),  who  was  to  perform  the  ceremony 
of  degradation  on  Fra  Girolamo  and  his  two  brethren  .  .  .  another  for 
the  Papal  Commissaries,  who  were  to  pronounce  them  heretics  and 
schismatics,  and  deliver  them  over  to  the  secular  arm  ;  and  a  third,  close 
to  Marzocco,  at  the  corner  of  the  terrace  where  the  platform  began,  for 
the  Gonfaloniere,  and  the  Eight,  who  were  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of 
death."  1 

Before  each  of  these  tribunals,  in  turn,  the  three  companions  were 
led  to  hear  their  sentence  pronounced,  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
to  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  Papal  delegates  a  plenary  indulgence, 
as  if  in  recognition  of  at  least  the  possibility  that  they  had  acted  in 
good  faith.  Then,  stripped  of  their  religious  habit,  they  were  con- 
ducted to  the  scaffold,  and  Savonarola  once  more  stood  face  to  face 
with  the  people  of  his  beloved  Florence.  In  the  words  of  the 
authoress  of  Romola,  he  saw  "  torches  waving  to  kindle  the  fuel 
beneath  his  dead  body,"  and  "  faces  glaring  with  a  yet  worse  light  "  ; 
he  heard,  as  His  divine  Master  had  heard,  "  gross  jests,  taunts,  and 
curses "  ;  he  was  well  assured  that  in  the  background  were  many 
hundreds  of  weeping  Piagnoni,  faithful  still ;  and  he  knew  that  the 
very  moment  of  his  cruel  and  ignominious  death  would  be  for  him 
the  moment  of  a  great  moral  victory. 

^  Komola,  chap,  l.xxiii. 


THE  END 


439 


And  so  in  a  very  true  sense  it  was.  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola 
had  sounded  the  loiiL;-dra\vn  and  wailing  blast  of  a  fearless 
challenge  to  all  the  powers  of  wickedness.  He  had  slipped 
and  fallen  in  the  shock  of  the  first  onset.  But  the  notes  of  his 
trumpet-call  reverberated  through  Christendom,  and  through  the 
century  that  was  so  soon  to  dawn  upon  the  world,  and  woke 
many  an  echo  which  heartened  other  men  and  women  besides 
S.  Philip  Neri  and  S.  Catherine  of  Ricci  for  their  own  combat  with 
evil.  The  Church  was  scourged  after  another  manner  than  that 
which  he  had  foreseen.  The  face  of  the  Church  has  been  renewed, 
though  not  so  "  soon  and  speedily  "  as  he  had  imagined.  In  sub- 
stance, however,  more  than  one  of  Fra  Girolamo's  "  conclusions  "  have 
been  made  good,  even  though  his  revelations  have  been  for  the 
most  part  disallowed.  And,  all  his  errors  and  their  consequences 
notwithstanding,  the  Church  and  the  world  owe  him  a  debt  of 
gratitude. 

It  was  Kitchener,  not  Gordon,  who  conquered  the  Soudan.     Yet, 
had  it  not  been  for  Gordon's  tragic  death,  there  had  been  no  Soudan 
expedition  under  Kitchener.     And  it  may  be  that  the  leaders  of  the 
great  Catholic  revival  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  more  indebted 
than  they  were  aware  to  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola.     The  reform  of 
the  Church  was  to  be  effected  by  methods  other  than  his.     Not 
"cito  et  velociter  "  ;  not  by  that  brilliant  kind  of  warfare  which  wins 
a  battle  and   loses   a   campaign  ;    but    slowly  and    surely,   through 
patience  and  long  preparation,  and  a  careful  adaptation  of  means  to 
ends,  by  the  assiduous  training  of  a  body  of  men  who,  in  their  turn, 
were  to  drill  others  one  by  one  in  the  principles  of  the  spiritual  life, 
and  little  by  little  to  leaven  the  world.     And  again,   not   by  the 
decentralisation  of  the  Church,  and   the  reduction  of  its  rounded 
circle  to  an  ellipse  with  rival  foci  at  Rome  and  Florence,  but  by  the 
uncompromising  assertion  of  the  duty  of  loyalty  to  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  in  his  official  capacity,  whatever  might  be  his  personal  short- 
comings or  even  vices  ;  by  the  full  and  explicit  recognition  of  the 
truth  that,  "  de  Sion  exibit  lex  et  verbum  Domini  de  Jerusalem." 
And  yet,  who  shall  say  how  far  the  "excursions  and  alarums"  of  the 
great  Florentine  preacher  not  merely  preluded  and  heralded,  but 
helped  to  clear  the  ground  for,  the  organised  religious  campaign  of 
the  sixteenth  century  ? 


44°  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

"When  Savonarola,  degraded  and  unfrocked,  ended  his  life  on  the 
gallows,  his  cause  seemed  to  be  irretrievably  lost,  and  his  enemies 
triumphed.  Nevertheless,  he  died  a  conqueror,  and  he  died  for  the 
noblest  cause  for  which  a  man  can  give  his  life — for  the  spread  of  God's 
kingdom  on  earth.     The  future  belonged  to  him,  and  he  to  the  Church."^ 

So  writes  Dr  Schnitzer,  and  we  may  make  his  words  our  own 
without  either  justifying  the  disobedience  of  Fra  Girolamo,  or 
unreservedly  condemning  his  judges.  Even  though  his  disobedience 
may  have  had  its  root  in  pride,  and  may  have  made  his  condemna- 
tion inevitable,  no  one  can  call  in  question  the  burning  zeal  for  the 
kingdom  of  God  which  was  the  dominant  motive  in  his  life  ;  and 
the  fire  which  consumed  his  mortal  remains  may  be  deemed  to  have 
purged  his  fault,  at  least  before  the  tribunal  of  human  judgment. 

We  have  said  :  "  All  his  errors  notwithstanding  " ;  for  those  writers 
have,  in  our  judgment,  done  a  real  disservice  to  Fra  Girolamo's 
memory  who  have  striven  to  show  that  the  life  and  character  of  their 
hero  were  all  but  flawless,  and  to  justify  well-nigh  his  every  word  and 
action.  To  do  this  is  to  miss  the  lessons  which  are  writ  large  on  the 
very  surface  of  his  career,  and  to  call  aloud  for  the  cold  and  calcu- 
lating application  of  a  discriminating  criticism  where  the  verdict  of 
common-sense  might  well  have  sufficed.  The  lessons  to  be  learned 
from  the  life  and  death  of  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  are,  in  our 
judgment,  so  obvious  that,  but  for  the  unmeasured  encomium  of  his 
panegyrists,  it  had  been  needless  to  draw  the  obvious  moral. 

The  severe  austerity  of  Fra  Girolamo's  life,  his  truly  wonderful 
gift  of  prayer,  his  fearless  intrepidity,  his  boundless  confidence  in 
God,  his  keen  insight  into  the  true  condition  of  the  Church  and  of 
civil  society,  his  surpassing  eloquence,  his  marvellous  influence  over 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  men,  an  influence  wielded  on  the  whole  for 
the  noblest  of  ends — all  these  things  claim  the  admiration  which  is 
due  to  a  truly  great  and  good  man.  Yet  the  story  of  his  life  reminds 
us  that  even  exalted  gifts  and  noble  qualities  such  as  these  may  yet 
be  unavailing  to  save  a  man  from  being  misled  by  a  subtle  tempta- 
tion into  an  unacknowledged  self-esteem,  which  may  end  by  sapping 
the  very  roots  of  obedience,  by  luring  him  onwards  till  at  last  he 
makes  private  judgment — in  matters  of  conduct  if  not  of  doctrine — 
the  court  of  final  appeal.  And  when  this  point  has  been  reached, 
only  two  issues  are  possible  if  the  conflict  becomes  acute ;  spiritual 
ruin  or  temporal  disaster.     It  was,  perhaps,  well  for  Fra  Girolamo 

'  Schnilzer,  H.P.B.  cxxi.  8oi. 


THE  END  441 

that  temporal  disaster  overtook  him,  and  that  liis  haptism  of  fire 
came  to  him  in  time.  The  life's  story  of  Girolamo  Savonarola  is, 
in  fact,  in  the  truest  and  fullest  sense,  a  tragedy.  For  the  very 
essence  of  tragedy  lies  in  this,  that  under  stress  of  critical 
circumstances,  some  flaw  in  a  noble  character  leads  by  steps,  slow 
perhaps,  but  sure,  to  a  final  catastrophe,  and  that  in  and  through 
the  catastrophe  itself  that  which  was  imperfect  or  faulty  is  as  it 
were  purged  out,  while  that  which  was  noble  survives  in  the  mind 
and  memory  of  men,  and  does  its  work  more  eflfectively  than  it 
would  have  done  had  there  been  no  catastrophe  to  arouse  attention 
and  awaken  sympathy. 

"  There  is,"  writes  Mr  Armstrong,  "  no  escape  from  the 
dilemma  that  either  Savonarola  was  not  orthodox,  or  that  he  was 
unjustly  condemned."  1  But  there  is,  in  fact,  no  inconsistency 
whatever  in  maintaining  the  doctrinal  orthodoxy  of  Savonarola's 
writings,  in  the  sense  in  which  this  was  declared  by  a  Papal 
commission  in  155S,  and  at  the  same  time  condemning  certain 
of  his  acts.  It  is  plain  that  a  man's  principles  may  be  perfectly 
sound,  while  his  application  of  those  principles  to  his  own  conduct 
may  leave  much  to  be  desired.  That  Savonarola  should  rebel 
against  a  Pope  whom  he  believed  to  be  an  usurper,  does  not  in 
the  least  imply  that  he  called  in  question  the  power  of  a  legitimate 
Pope.  But  on  the  other  hand  the  fact,  or  the  presumption,  that 
in  so  rebelling  the  Friar  was  acting  from  conscientious  motives, 
could  not  be  held  to  debar  Alexander  VI.  from  the  right,  or  even 
to  exonerate  him  from  the  duty,  of  protecting  the  Church  from 
the  danger  of  a  schism,  even  at  the  cost  of  inflicting  the  extreme 
penalty  on  a  principal  author  of  the  danger. 

The  questions  arising  out  of  the  veneration  paid  to  Savonarola 
by  St  Philip  Neri,  St  Catherine  de'  Ricci,  and  S.  Francis  of 
Paula,  it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  discuss.  There  will  always 
be  some  who  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  safer  to  trust  to  the 
spiritual  insight  of  these  saints  than  to  any  merely  critical  or 
historical  considerations,  and  such  persons  we  cannot,  of  course, 
hope  to  convince.  Others  have  held,  and  will  continue  to  hold, 
that  even  saints  might  be  unconsciously  prejudiced  in  favour  of 
a  very  distinguished  compatriot,  and  that  the  case  of  Fra  Girolamo 
must,  after  all,  be  judged  on  its  merits.  Our  own  opinion  we 
have  given,  with  the  grounds  on  which  it  rests.     Valeat  qiianhim. 

A   word,   however,    must    be   said    in    conclusion    as   to   the 
1  EJI.R.  xvi.  u6. 


442  GIROLAMO  SAVONAROLA 

argument  which  has  been  drawn,  even  in  quite  recent  times, 
from  the  occurrence  of  Savonarola's  name  in  the  "  Elenchus 
Sanctorum,"  etc.,  which  forms  one  of  the  indexes  at  the  end  of 
the  work  of  Benedict  XIV.  De  Canonizatione  et  Beatificatione,  etc.^ 
The  names  which  this  "  Elenchus "  contains  fall  under  one  or 
other  of  four  or  five  categories,  viz.:  (i)  "Sanctorum,"  (2) 
"  Bectorum,"  (3)  "  Servorum  Dei,"  (4)  "  Virorum  aliorum," 
{a)  "sanctitate  venerabilium,  et "  (/;)  "  illustrium."  These 
categories  are  carefully  observed  throughout.  Thus  we  find,  by 
way  of  specimen  (i)  "  S.  Dominicus,"  (2)  "  B.  Serafinus  de 
Asculo,"  (3)  "Servus  Dei  Joannes  de  Palafox,"  (4a)  "  Ven. 
Aegidius  a  Laurentiana,"  and  (4;^)  a  relatively  small  number 
of  names  which  have  no  qualificative  epithet.  Among  these  last 
are  "  Hieronymus  Savonarola,"  "Jacobus  Laynez,"  and  others. 
Turning  now  to  the  passage  in  the  De  Canonizatione  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred  under  the  name  "  Savonarola,"  -we 
read  that,  on  occasion  of  the  process  of  the  beatification  of  St 
Catherine  de'  Ricci,  Lambertini  himself  (afterwards  Benedict 
XIV.)  who  was  then  acting  as  "  Promotor  Fidei,"  raised  an 
objection,  as  he  was  officially  bound  to  do,  based  on  Catherine's 
devotion  and  prayers  to  Fra  Hieronymo  ;  that  the  postulators  of 
the  cause  (quite  rightly)  rebutted  the  objection,  but  that  when 
"  certain  persons,  carried  away  by  the  heat  of  argument  .  .  . 
began  to  touch,  incidentally,  on  the  unjust  execution  of  Savon- 
arola," this  particular  plea  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer, 
"  not  only  devoid  of  solid  foundation,"  but  also  little  or  nothing 
to  the  point."  ^  It  would  seem  then,  that  Benedict  XIV.,  when 
recounting  the  incident  many  years  later,  and  after  he  had  himself 
canonised  St  Catherine,  had  no  mind  to  pronounce  a  judgment 
in  favour  of  Savonarola's  action  in  his  conflict  with  Alexander  VI. 
Nor  indeed  does  he  express  any  opinion  on  the  personal  virtues 
of  the  Friar.     He  just  leaves  the  question  where  he  found  it. 

Amicus  Cato  :  magis  arnica  Veritas.  It  is  by  the  faithful 
observance  of  the  principle  underlying  these  words,  and  not  by 
indiscriminate  laudation,  that  his  due  meed  of  honour  will  be 
most  surely  paid  to  the  memory  of  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola. 

1  Cf.  Grisar,  in  Zeitschr.f.  Kalh.  Theologie,  iv.  392  (1880). 

2  De  Beati/.,  lib.  iii.  c.  xxv.  n.  20.  The  purport  of  the  decree  was  that,  pass- 
ing over  the  subject  of  the  veneration  shown  by  Catherine  to  Savonarola,  the 
cause  of  her  beatification  should  be  proceeded  with.  Lack  of  space  precludes  a 
fuller  discussion  of  this  subject,  and,  in  particular,  of  an  objection  raised  by  Father 
O'Xeil  in  the  San  Francisco  Monitor,  of  i8th  November  1899. 


INDEX 


Note. — Primary  references  are  to  surnames  where  these  are  known.  But  mere 
local  designations  of  origin  {not  of  lordship),  such  as  '^  da  Firenze"  '^  da  Milano," 
are  not  treated  as  true  surnames.  In  default  of  the  surname  the  reference  is  given 
under  the  Christian  name.  As  regards  the  spelling  of  proper  names,  considerable 
variety  is  found  in  the  various  documents,  the  orthography  of  which  has  been 
followed  in  the  summaries,  etc.,  occzirring  in  the  course  of  the  work.  But  it  has 
not  seemed  necessary  to  reproduce  more  than  a  very  few  of  these  variants  in  the 
Index. 


"Abominations "in  the  Church,  324, 
392 ;  and  s.  v.  Rome,  "  Profligate 
Church,"  etc. 

Absohition  from  censure,  Savonarola 
said  to  have  petitioned,  267  f.  ;  he 
refuses  to  seek,  267,  277,  2S2 

"  Absohition  for  cash  payment,"  277 

Acciaioh  [sic)  V.,  his  Life  of  P.  Cap- 
poni  quoted,  125  f.  notes 

Acciaiuoli,  family,  members  of,  at  S. 
Marco,  103 

Accoppiatori,  a  provisional  board  of 
magistrates,  appointed  in  Sep'ember 
1494,  151  f.  ;  they  appoint  the  Sig- 
nory,  160  note  ;  are  induced  to  re- 
sign, 165  ;  their  resignation  ascribed 
by  Savonarola  to  his  own  influence, 

4.'3 

Adjuration,  forms  of,  used  by  Savona- 
rola, 185,  27S,  2S3,  cf.  2  to,  and  s.  v. 
Christ 

Advent  sermons,  subjects  of,  118  and 
note ;  in  1496,  222 

Aggaeus   (Ilaggai),   sermons   on,    124, 

^145.  '55 
Agriculture,  neglect  of,  in  Italy,  caused 

by  war,  etc.,  34 
Alamanni,  Antonio,  causes  dispersal  of 

audience  from  the  Duomo  on  Palm 

Sunday  149S,  350 
Alamanni,  Niccolo,  Savonarola   sends 

messages  to  France  by  means  of,  415 
Alberti,     Piero    degli,    elected    Gonfa- 

loniere,  "molto  contrario  al  Frate," 


231  7iote  ;  declines  to  sign  the  "  sub- 
scription "  in  favour  of  Savonarola, 
402  ;  appointed  one  of  a  committee 
to  supervise  the  ordeal,  his  courtesy 
to  Savonarola,  746  ;  one  of  the 
commission  appointed  to  examine 
Savonarola,  37 1  ;  persuades  Ber- 
linghieri's  widow  to  destroy  the 
autograph  deposition  of  Savonarola, 
408  note 

Albizzi,  Francesco  degli,  one  of  the 
examining  committee,  371  note 

Albizzi,  Luca  degli,  member  of  the 
committee  on  the  affair  of  Savona- 
rola, 315  ;  is  an  adherent  of  Savona- 
rola, but  jealous  or  suspicious  of 
Valori,  413  ;  declines  to  sign  the 
"  subscription,"  413 

Alessandri,  Francesco,  speech  of,  in 
debate,  310 

Alexander  VI.  (Rodrigo  Borgia),  his 
simoniacal  election,  a  "crowning 
scandal,"  17  f.,  86;  its  validity 
contested  and  discussed,  367,  430  ff.  ; 
misrule  of,  125  ;  political  intrigues 
of,  195 ;  engages  in  the  "  Holy 
League,"  and  endeavours  to  secure 
the  adhesion  of  Florence,  133,  176, 
196,  204,  298 ;  is  favourable  to 
P.  de'  Medici,  yet  disclaims  all 
knowledge  of  his  plot,  230 ;  his 
viciiius  life,  87,  195,  296 ;  "  con- 
structive infidelity,"  430  ;  he  is 
declared  to  be  "no  true  Pope,"  203, 
448 


444 


INDEX 


Alexander  VI. — continued. 

367  f.  ;  and  "no  Christian," 325,  388, 
423.  He  separates  S.  Marco  from 
the  Lombard  Congregation,  97  ; 
summons  Savonarola  to  Rome, 
July  1495,  180;  reunites  S.  Marco 
with  the  Lombard  Congregation,  and 
inhibits  Savonarola  from  preaching, 
185  ff  ;  alleged  to  have  tacitly  allowed 
him  to  recommence  preaching,  Feb- 
ruary 1496,  199 ;  indignation  at  his 
freedom  of  speech,  203  ff ;  said  to 
have  offered  a  cardinal's  hat  to 
Savonarola,  210  ;  establishes  the 
Congregation  of  the  Roman  and 
Tuscan  Province,  November  1496, 
213  ff.  ;  indignation  at  lenten  ser- 
mons, 1496,  226  ff. ;  excommunicates 
Savonarola,  232  ff.  ;  corresponds  with 
the  Signory  concerning  him,  February 
and  March  1498,  300  ff.  ;  threatens 
Florence  with  an  interdict,  300  ff. 
307,  322,  392  ;  disapproves  the 
ordeal,  but  thanks  the  Franciscan 
champion,  347  f.  ;  allows  that 
Savonarola  be  examined  by  torture, 
but  demands  that  he  be  sent  to 
Rome,  372  ff  ;  consents  that  the 
execution  take  place  in  Florence, 
and  appoints  commissaries,  383  ff.  ; 
his  action  in  regard  of  the  trial  dis- 
cussed, 429  ff.  Letters  from,  300,  305, 
374 ;  and  s.  v.  Brief.  See  also  the 
analytical  table  of  Contents,  espe- 
cially of  chaps.  X.,  xi.,  xii.,  xvi.,  xxi. 

Alfonso  of  Aragon,  Duke  of  Calabria, 
96,  122;  King  (Alfonso  IL)  of  Naples 
117  iioie,  133  ?iote 

"  Alleluia,"  out  of  season,  282 

Alliance,  French,  with  Florence, 
favoured  l:>y  Savonarola,  142,  203, 
212,  223,  320;  and  s.  V.  "  Vision  of 
Lilies" 

Alms,  collected  or  promoted  by  Savona- 
rola, 34,  36,  41,  152,  198,  202,  211, 
386  note 

Altoviti,  Guglielmo,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
264  ;  will  not  sign  the  "  subscription," 
402 

"Ambassador,  a  stout,  with  a  thin 
commission"  [i.e.  Bracci),  226 

"Ambassador  of  God,"  duties  of  an, 
290  f. 

Ambassadors,  Florentine,  at  Rome, 
s.  vv.  Valori  (Fil.),  Becchi,  Bonsi, 
Bracci ;  at  Bologna,  s.  v.  Cambini ; 
at  Milan,  s.  vv.  Gualterotti,  Pepi  ; 
at  Venice,  s.  v.  Soderini ;  in  France, 
s.  v.  Guasconi ;  Mantuan,  s.  v. 
Ghivizzano;    Milanese,   s.   vv.  Som- 


enzi,  Taverna,  Tranchedino  ;  Roman, 
s,  V.  Rovere,  (i.  del  la ;  Venetian, 
s.  v.  Vinciguerra  ;  Savonarola's  deal- 
ings with,  417 

Ambiguous  language,  Savonarola's,  135; 
and  s.  v.  Contradictions,  Equivoca- 
tion, etc. 

Ambition,  alleged,  of  Savonarola,  412, 
413 

Ambrose,  S.,  and  Theodosius,  286; 
will  descend  on  Milan,  288 

Amnesty  at  Florence  (i)  after  flight  of 
Piero  de'  Medici,  148 ;  (2)  after 
establishment  of  new  constitution, 
159  ff. 

Amort,  theological  writer,  on  private 
revelations,  66  f.  notes,  71,  72  note 

Amos,  the  Prophet,  words  of,  adopted 
by  Savonarola,  53 

Amos  and  Zacharias,  sermons  on,  201, 
209,  386 

"  Anathema,"  conditional,  on  B.  V.  M., 

275 

Angels,  the,  of  FF.  Girolamo,  Dome- 
nico,  and  Salvestro,  Sal  vest  ro's 
alleged  vision  of,  and  communications 
from,  387 

"Annales  Minorum,"  the,  437 

"Annali  del  convento  di  S.  Caterina 
di  Pisa,"  108 

Annunciation  of  B.  V.  M. ,  Feast  ©f, 
1495,  vision  on  this  day  and  on  the 
octave,  54  ff.,  322,  418;  in  1498, 
public  celebration  on,  322 

Antinori,  Tommaso,  one  of  the  Com- 
mittee to  supervise  the  ordeal,  346 

Antoninus,  S.,  his  opinion  on  points  of 
Canon  Law,  239,  244  f.,  250 ;  will 
descend  on  Florence,  288 

Antonio  da  Radda,  Fra,  murmurs 
against  Savonarola's  government  of 
S.  Marco,  390 

Antonio  di  Bernardo,  executed  for  a 
political  offence,  the  sole  victim  of 
political  hatred  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Medici,  147 

Antonio  di  (Jlandia,  Fra,  Prior  at  Pisa, 
112  ;  at  Prato,  112,  206  ;  enjoys  the 
confidence  of  S.,  3S8 ;  commended 
as  "padre  di  religiosa  vita,"  ibid. 

"  Anziani  "  of  Lucca,  letters  of,  con- 
cerning S.,  etc.,  178  ff. 

Apocalyse,  mediaeval  interpretation  of, 
9  ;  Savonarola's  lectures  and  sermons 
on,  26,  388,  411 

"Apologeticum     Fratrum    S.    Marci," 

the,  216  ff.,  222,  231,  248 
Apologists  of  Savonarola,  193,  440  ff. 
Apology    for    Savonarola,    Pico    della 
Mirandola's,  221  nots,  248,  250;  in- 


INDEX 


445 


dignation  of  d'Este  at  its  dedication 
to  himself,  248,  321  f. 
Appeal,    right  of,   in  criminal  cases  at 
Florence,    allowed   and    disallowed, 
168  and  note  ;  and  s.  v.  "  Sei  fave  "  ; 
from     Pope    to    Council,    right    of, 
maintained    by    Gerson,    240  ;     for- 
bidden by  the  Bull,  Execrabilis,  430 
and  nole,  cf.   432,    121  ;    and  s.    v. 
Council ;  to  "  the  Pope  in  heaven  (al 
Papa    celeste),"   Savonarola's,    288; 
to  public  opinion,  Savonarola's,  71, 
249,    274    vote;    to    "ecclesiastical 
lynch  law,"  278 
Aquinas,  s.  v.  Thomas  Aquinas,  S. 
Arezzo,  Bishop  of,   Francesco  Soderini 
erroneously  so  styled  {he  was  in  fact 
Bishop  ofVoltera),  399,  417;  Pazzi, 
Cosimo  de',  299 
Arrigucci,  Filippo,  consults  S.  on  the 

attempt  of  P.  de'  Medici,  230 
Aristocratic   party,  the,   s.   vv.   "  Otti- 

mati,"  '■  Arrabbiati" 
Ark,  Sermons   on  the,  29  f.,  33  note, 

119  ff. 
Armstrong,     Edvv.,    opinions     quoted. 

(See  Preface,  p.  ix.) 
Arnoldo,  Tommaso,  Canon  of  Florence, 
present  al  first  examination  of  S.,  371 
"Arrabbiati,"  the  (nickname  of  the 
aristocratic  party  at  Florence),  their 
testimony  to  the  reform  of  the  city, 
36  ;  their  hatred  of  the  Mediceans, 
147  ;  out-voted  on  the  subject  of  the 
new  constitution,  175  ;  Savonarola's 
vehemence  against,  I75f-;  'heir 
ingratitude,  many  of  them  having 
been  recalled  from  exile,  212;  they 
have  a  majority  in  the  Signory  for 
May  and  June  1497,  230  ;  they  are 
believed  to  have  warned  Camerino 
(the  bearer  of  the  Bull  of  excom- 
munication) not  to  enter  the  city, 
233  ;  are  defeated  in  successive 
elections  during  the  summer  and 
autumn  1497  by  a  coalition  of 
Palleschi  with  Frateschi,  254;  have 
places  on  a  hybrid  committee,  315; 
according  to  Cosci  and  Lupi  would 
never  have  been  so  bitter,  but  for  S., 
176  iiole  ;  an  objectionable  nickname, 
315  note 
Arrest  of  Savonarola  and  F.  Domenico, 
362  f.,  370;  of  F.  Salvestro,  363, 
370;  of  nineteen  others,  370;  ot 
D.  Maz.zinghi,  370  note 
Arrighi,  Giovanni,  speech  in  debate,  373 
Artists,  activity  of  under  Sixtus  IV. 
and  Innocent  VIII.,  23;  influenced 
by  S.,  37  note 


Ascension  Day  1497,  outrage  in  the 
Cathedral  on,  sermon  interrupted, 
etc.,  231,  254,  349  ;  S.  inhibited  from 
preaching  after,  230 

Ascclical  System,  Savonarola's,  com- 
pared with  the  "  Spiritual  Exercises," 
31  ;  and  s.  vv.  Rigorism,  Fasting, 
etc. 

Ash  Wednesday  1496,  sermon  on, 
200 

Astrology,  folly  of,  55 

Alhanasius,  S.,  his  sufferings  for  justice' 
sake,  237 

Attestation  of  "  process,"  Savonarola's, 
garbled  by  Ser  Ceccone,  421 

Augustine,  S.,  careful  to  read  the  works 
of  his  adversaries,  291 

Austerity  of  life,  Savonarola's,  440 ;  at 
S.  Marco,  103 

Avignon  under  the  Popes,  called 
"  Babylon  "  by  Petrarch,  9 

"  Babylon  "  in  the  Apocalypse, 
mediaeval  interpretation  of,  9 

"  Balia,"  administrative  authority  of  a 
provisional  kind,  150 

Bakio,  Ser,  speech  of,  in  debate,  309 

Ballads  ("sonecti")  in  derision  of 
Alexander  VI.,  300 

Ballerini,  Antonio  (S.J.),  moral  theo- 
logian, on  unjust  censures,  245  f.  note 

Bandella  (or  Bandello),  Fra  Vincenzo, 
Prior  of  S.  Marco,  and  afterwards 
General  of  Dominicans,  10  note,  11 

Banishment,  decree  of,  against  Savona- 
rola, attempt  to  procure,  233  ;  passed 
during  the  riot,  355 ;  r.gainst  Piero 
de'  Medici,  and  his  brother,  Cardinal 
Giovanni,  131,  167;  against  Fra 
Niccolo  da  Milano  and  others,  379 

Bankrupts,  spiritual,  218 

Barba,  Fra  Mariano  della,  da  Gennaz- 
zano,  preaches  at  Florence  1482,  his 
style  described  by  Politian,  12  f.  ; 
replies  to  S.  in  the  pulpit,  77  ff.  ;  an 
exchange  of  courtesies,  his  character, 
79  ;  present  with  Lorenzo  de'  Medici 
in  his  last  illness,  81  ;  invited  to 
preach  at  Ferrara,  90  f.  ;  preaches 
there  in  successive  years,  and  also  in 
Rome,  78  note;  stirs  up  the  Pope 
against  S. ,  232  ;  said  to  have  spoken 
insolently  of  the  Pope,  and  to  have 
been  reproved  by  S.,  235,  291  ; 
became  General  of  the  Augustinians, 

79 
"Barbarians,  God's,"  283 
"Barbers,"  many,   to  be  sent  by  God 

against  Italy  (in  allusion  to  Isaiah  vii, 

20),  139  and  fwtt,  418 


446 


INDEX 


"Barbers    and     clerks"     among    the 

signers  of  the  "subscription,"  402 
Bardi,  Agnolo  de',  speech  of.  in  debate, 

336. 
Bargello,  the,  Florentine  prison,  357 
Barricades  on  occasion    of  the  ordeal, 

339 
Barry,  Dr  William,  on  Sixtus  IV.,  etc. 

16  f. 
Baitoli,   Fra   Girolamo,   companion  of 

Fra   Domenico   at    Prato,   dissuades 

him     from    accepting    challenge    to 

ordeal,  327 
Bartolini,  G.  B.,  speech  of,  in  debate, 

314 

Basso,  Girolamo,  Canbnal,  19  note 

Bastard  princes,  an  age  of,  2  note,  24 
note 

Bastiano  da  Firenzuola,  Ser,  son-in- 
law  of  Alessandro  Bracci,  corresponds 
with  Bracci  concerning  Savonarola, 
417,  428  ;  a  letter  from  him  gives 
occasion  to  the  "  subscription,"  404 

Battista  da  Firenze,  Fra  [alias  Battista 
Antonii),  letter  of  S.  to,  89  note; 
proposes  and  carries  the  incorporation 
of  S.  in  the  community  of  S.  Marco, 
102 

Bayonne,  E.  Ceslas  (O.P.),  on  the  pro- 
phetical claim  of  S.,  49 

Becchi,  Ricciardo,  Florentine  ambas- 
sadoratRome,  198,  202  ;  hiscredulity, 
234  ;  not  greatly  trusted  by  S.,  417  ; 
letters  from,  203  ff.,  225  ff.,  234,  257, 
259,  264 

Bell,  the,  of  the  Palazzo,  tolled  to 
summon  a  Parlamento,  130,  150; 
of  S.  Marco,  tolled  during  the  riot  to 
summon  help,  358  and  note 

Bellarmine,  Robert,  Cardinal,  con- 
troverts an  opinion  of  Gerson,  251 

Benedetto  da  Ferrarossa,  Ser,  one  of 
the  notaries  employed  to  supervise 
the  "subscription,"  402,  404 

Benedetto  da  Firenze,  Fra,  the  sole 
authority  for  Savonarola's  disappoint- 
ment in  love,  4  ;  one  of  Savonarola's 
distinguished  converts,  37  ;  gives  the 
names  of  the  Committee  appointed  to 
supervise  the  ordeal,  346  ;  his  action 
during  the  riot,  360;  his  account  of 
the  process  of  S.,  407,  424,  435; 
his  "  Cedrus  Libani,"  103,  359  fif.  ; 
his  "  Vulnera  diligentis,"  326  72ote. 
See  also  the  Bibliographical  List,  s.  n. 

Benedict,  S.,  alleged  to  have  publicly 
uttered  prophecies,  58  ;  will  descend 
upon  his  Order,  288 

Benedict  XIV.  Pope  (Prosi  ero  Lam- 
bertini),  his  "  Elenchus  Sanctorum," 


etc.,  its  bearing  on  the  case  of  S., 

Benedictine  monasteries,  S.  Giustina 
and  others,  reformed,  248 

B'jnivieni,  Domenico,  ."ulvises  S.  con- 
cerning his  preaching,  78 ;  his  ac- 
count of  the  death  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  83  note 

Benivieni,  Girolamo,  influence  of  S. 
over,  37  ;  consults  S.  on  the  issue  of  a 
Medicean  plot,  230 ;  his  letters  a 
source  of  information  on  the  ordeal, 
326  7tote,  327,  332  ;  S.  confides  to  him 
his  project  of  writing  to  the 
Sovereigns  of  Europe,  420 ;  men- 
tioned among  the  leading  adherents 
of  S.,  414 

Bentivoglio,  Ercole,  S.  intercedes  for, 
with  Valori,  to  get  for  him  a  military 
command,  416. 

Bentivoglio,  Giovanni,  Lord  of  Bologna, 
opposes  the  separation  of  S.  Marco 
from  the  Lombard  Congregation, 
96 ;  his  tyranny,  he  puts  to  death  a 
local  prophet,  129  note;  probably 
the  instigator  of  a  murder  at  Ferrara, 
89  note;  promises  his  services  to 
P.  de'  Medici,  195  note;  is  amused 
at  the  "astuteness"  of  S.,  202;  his 
good  offices  on  behalf  of  S.  are  asked 
by  the  Florentine  Ten,  322 ;  is  glad 
to  find  S.  in  grave  difficulties,  323  f.  ; 
Cambini  goes  on  an  embassy  to  him, 
and  is  questioned  by  him  about  S., 
401 

Bentivoglio,  Madonna,  behaves  in- 
solently to  S.  at  Bologna,  and  is  said 
to  have  plotted  his  murder,  88  f. 

Berlinghieri,  Giovanni,  one  of  the 
Signory,  has  possession  of  Savona- 
rola's autograph  deposition,  but  will 
show  it  to  no  one,  408 

Berlinghieri,  Madonna,  persuaded  by 
P.  degli  Alberli  to  destroy  the  auto- 
graph deposition  of  S.,  408  note 

Bernardino  da  Feltre,  S.  expelled  from 
Florence  for  preaching  against  usury, 
74  f.    . 

Bernardino  da  Siena,  S.  organises  a 
"  bonfire  of  vanities,"  41  ;  his  preach- 
ing does  not  afford  a  true  parallel 
with  that  of  S.,  31 1 

Bets  laid  on  S.  preaching,  or  refraining 
from  preaching,  on  Ascension  Day 
1497  ;    they  are  declared  null,  231 

Bettini,  family,  five  members  of,  at  S. 
Marco,  103 

"Bianchi,"  the  "Whites,"  175  note; 
a  political  party  in  Florence,  161. 
And  s.  V.  "  Frateschi " 


INDEX 


447 


Bibbiena,  Dominican  convent  near,  109 

Bihbiena,  Piero,  secretary  to  P.  de' 
Medici,  123 

"Bigi,"  "the  Greys,"  politicnl  party 
at  Florence,  their  name  implies  a 
middle  position  between  the  Bianchi, 
or  popular  party,  nnd  the  Neri,  or 
advocates  of  a  "tjoverno  stretto," 
161  ;  they  profess  frientlsliip  for  S., 
ibid,  and  vote;  S.  protests  against 
the  use  of  the  name,  175  note  ;  they 
again  make  common  cause  with  the 
Frateschi  after  Piero's  atte.opt  to 
enter  Florence  in  1497,  261  ("  Bisi" 
sic).     And  s.  v.  "  Pallcschi  " 

Bisdoinini,  Vaggia,  reputed  prophetess, 
alleged  dealings  of  S.  with,  427 

Blasphemy,  severe  penalties  for,  ad- 
vocated by  S.,  46;  to  he  put  down 
by  public  authority  at  Prato,  207  iiote  ; 
recrudescence  of  at  Florence,  213 

Blood  of  Christ,  the,  profaned  at  Rome, 

392 

"  Blood,  the  price  of,"  348 

Bologna,  Savonarola  at,  6,  lO,  88 

Bonciani,  Simone,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
373.  380 

"Bonfire  of  Vanities,"  the,  40 f.,  199, 
284,  301 

"Bonfire,  a  good"  {i.e.  Savonarola's 
execution),  said  to  have  been  promised 
by  Romolino,  383 

Boni,  Lionello,  supplies  arms  to  S. 
Marco,  352  7iote  ;  his  account  of  the 
riot,  353  note  ;  his  deposition,  396 

Boniface  VIII.,  Pope,  and  Jacopone  da 
Todi,  2S6 

Bonsi,  Domenico,  one  of  the  Ac- 
coppiatori,  induced  by  S.  to  resign 
office,  413,  cf.  165  ;  signs  the  "  Sub- 
scription," 402 ;  Florentine  ambas- 
sador at  Rome,  270;  attack  upon 
his  house,  298 ;  is  at  cross-purposes 
with  the  Ten,  299  ;  is  much  impressed 
by  the  readiness  of  many  to  undergo 
the  Ordeal  on  behalf  of  S.,  333  f., 
347;  relations  with  S.  414,  416  f.; 
letters  from,  270  f.,  297  ff.,  301, 
304 f.,  306  f.,  319  ft'. 

Borgia,  Piero,  Duke  of  Gandia,  son  of 
Alexander  VI.,  his  murder,  255  f.  ; 
alluded  to  in  Savonarola's  words, 
"one  has  lost  his  son,"  27S,  cf.  304 

Botticelli,  Sandro  {alias  Filipepi), 
Florentine  painter,  convivial  meet- 
ings held  at  his  studio,  345 

Botticelli,  Simone,  s.  v.  Filipepi,  S. 

Bracci,  Alessandro,  Floienline  ambas- 
sador at  Rome,  225  f. ,  232  ;  a  "  stout 
ambassador  with  a  thin  commission," 


226;  communicates  with  S.,417;  a 

letter  from  him  gives  occasion  to  the 

"subscription,"  404;    letters   from, 

226,  257  f.,  260  f. 
Brescia,   Savonarola  at,    14,  411;  the 

Podesta   of   (a   story),    281  ;    A.    da 

Marescotti,  Podesta  of,  416 
"  Bricks  without  straw,"  290 
Brief,  Papal ;  Exigit  vest  roe  devotionis, 

22nd    May    1493    (separation   of  S. 

Marco),  97 
Inter  ceieros,  21st  July  1495 

(S.  summoned  to  Rome),  iSo 
Quia    divini    consilii,    8th 

September  1495  (S-   Marco  reunited 

to  Lomb.ird  Congregation),  184 
Qnam  fitulta  et  varia,  9th 

September  1495  (on  same  subject),  186 
Licet  uberius,  1 6th  October 

1495  (S.  inhibited  from  preaching), 

193  f- 
Reformatt07ti  et  augmento, 

7th  November  1496  (erection  of  new 

Congregation),  213  fif. 
Cum  scape  a  quamplurimis, 

I3tli  May  1497  ;  S.  excommunicated, 

235  f. 
IntelligetiteSy    supenonbus 

temporihus,  26th  February  1498  (S. 

to  be  sent  to  Rome),  300  f. 
Expectantibus    nobis,     9th 

March  1498  (the  Signory  blamed  for 

supporting  S.),  305 
Ex  oratore  apiid  nos,   1 2th 

April    1498   (permission   to  examine 

s.),  372 

Ntipervos  et  ahts,  17th  April 

1498  (absolution  from  censures,  etc.), 

374 
Legimtis  literas,    12th  May 

149S    (sentence    to    be    passed    at 

Florence),  383 
jMitttmtis    dilectuni    fiiium, 

same  date  (commissaries  appointed), 

383 

Donnmis  ac  Redemptor  (Brief 

of  Clement  XIV.  referred  to),  221 

Brigit,  S.,  her  prophecies,  58,  69  note 

Brissonnet,  Guillamme,  Bishop  of  S. 
Malo,  415,  referred  to  as  "Cardinal 
of  Bourges  "  (but  he  was  Archbishop 
of  Rheims,  and  the  Archbishop  of 
Bourges  was  not  a  Cardinal,  cf.  Gams, 
.Series  Episcoporum  ad  loc),  428 

"  Broken  tool,"  the  Pope  described  as  a, 
272 

Brunetti,  Giovanni,  speech  of,  in  debate, 

"  Ball  to  authorise  a  virtuous  life,  a," 
wanted,  28 5 


448 


INDEX 


Bull,  Papal,  ExecrahiUs  (Tius  II.  for- 
bids appeal  from  Pope  to  Council), 
430,  43E 

In  mhioj-ilms  agent es  (Pius 

II.    retracts    opinions    held    before 
election),  430  note 

Cum  tarn  divino  (Julius  II. 

declares  simoniacal  election  invalid), 
430  f. 
Buongirolami,    Giovanni,    declines   to 

sign  the  "subscription,"  402 
Buonvicino,  Fra  Domenico,  da  Pescia, 
takes  a  leading  part  in  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  children  of  Florence,  43  ; 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  S.,  390,  420, 
423  ;  not  employed  as  confessor,  423, 
426  ;  preaches  at  Prato,  326  ;  accepts 
challenge  to  an  ordeal  to  take  place 
there,  327  ;  preaches  in  the  Duomo 
at  Florence,  ibid.  ;  a  "  presumptuous 
and   loutish   preacher,"  323 ;    being 
again  challenged  (as  is  alleged)  pub- 
lishes his  "  conclusions,"  and  deposits 
them  with  the  Signory,  329;  is  selected 
to  undergo  the  ordeal,   331  ;  invites 
volunteers,   330  and   note;   presents 
himself  for  the  ordeal,   341  f.  ;  pro- 
poses to  enter  the  fire  bearing  the 
consecrated  Host,  343  ;  defends  his 
purpose,  and  declares  it  to  have  been 
inspired   by   God,    344,    404  f.  ;    his 
conduct  during  the  riot,   354,    359  ; 
his  arrest,  362,  370  ;  his  trial,  364  ff., 
405  f.  ;  his  autograph  deposition,  and 
his  testimony  concerning  the  alleged 
revelations  of  S.  and  Fra  Salvestro, 
386  ff.  ;  his  character  as  described  by 
R.  Ubaldini,  390  ;  as  exhibited  under 
examination,  405  f.  ;  proposal  to  send 
him  back  to  S.  Marco  repudiated  by 
the  community,  378  ;  Romoiino  sug- 
gests  that   he    may   be   spared,    but 
consents  (as  is  alleged)  to  his  death, 
384 ;    report    of   papal   commissaries 
on,  436  ;  execution  of,  438 
Burlamacchi,  Pacifico  (O. P.),  "Life  of 
Savonarola"  ascribed  to  him,  4,   9, 
78,  z.-nA passim.    (See  Bibliographical 
List,  s.  n.) 
Bussino,  Fra  Tommaso  (O.P.),  ordered 
to  return  to  Lombardy  with  S.,  1S6 

Calabria,  Alfonso,  Duke  of,  96,  122; 

and  s.  v.  Alfonso 
Calumnies,  alleged,  against  Savonarola, 

197,  202 
Cambi,  Giovanni,   tried   and   executed 

for  Medicean  plot,  168  f. 
Cambi,  Giovanni,  "diNiccolo,"  speech 

of,    in    debate,    312;   employed    by 


Savonarola  to  write  to  the  Emperor 
on  the  affair  of  the  Council,  419 

Cambi,  Guido,  speech  of,  in  debate,  313 

Cambini,  Andrea,  ambassador  to 
Bologna,  401  ;  acts  as  agent  for 
Valori,  398  ff.,  414;  dissuades  from 
provision  of  arms  for  defence  of  S. 
Marco,  353  ;  his  house  attacked 
during  the  riot,  351,  and  looted, 
358;  his  deposition,  398  ff.,  404 

Camerino,  G.  da ;  s.  v.  Gianvittorio 
da  Camerino 

Canacci.  Giovanni,  speeches  of,  in 
debate,  309,  334,  3^3  . 

Canigiani,  Antonio^  candidate  for  office 
of  Gonfaloniere,  401  ;  speeches  of,  in 
debate,  313,  334  ;  frequently  visited 
by  Valori,  399 

Canon  Law,  the  excommunication  of 
S.  in  the  light  of,  239,  242  ff.  ; 
"Canon  Law  and  common  sense," 

273  f- 

Canons  of  Cathedral  at  Florence,  un- 
wise action  of  on  day  of  riot,  349 

Canonisation,  S.  alleged  to  have  been 
deemed  worthy  of,  442 

Canonists,  opinions  of,  on  unjust  ex- 
communication, etc.,  241  ff.  ;  on 
validity  or  nullity  of  simoniacal 
election  to  Papacy,  431  f.  note 

Cante,  Bernardo  da,  gives  information 
of  intended  attack  on  S.  Marco, 
352  7iote 

Canti,  Piero,  speech  of,  in  debate,  314 

"Capannucci,"  i.e.  carnival  bonfires 
in  use  at  Florence,  40 

Capecelatro,  Cardinal,  on  Savonarola, 

145 
Capital  punishment,  the  legal  penalty 

for  Savonarola's  acts,  382 
Cappelli,    Antonio,    his    collection    of 

documents,    39    and    notes   passim  : 

see  Bibliographical  List 
Capponi,    Giovanni,    helps    to    furnish 

arms  to  S.  Marco,  352  note 
Capponi,  Girolamo,speech  of,  in  debate, 

334 

Capponi,  Piero,  declares  P.  de'  Medici 
incapable  of  government,  126 ;  is 
opposed  to  vindictive  measures,  148 
note  ;  one  of  the  speakers  in  Guicciar- 
dini's  dialogue,  £>e/  Reggimento  di 
Firenze,  167  note;  alleged  to  be 
ill  disposed  towards  the  Consiglio 
Grande,  but  defended  by  S.,  397  ; 
speech  of,  in  debate,  on  gravity  of 
papal  censures,  202  f. 

Caratfa,  Olivieri,  Cardinal,  Archbishop 
of  Naples(commonly called  "Napoli" 
in  contemporary  letters),  is  solicited 


INDEX 


449 


Carafia,  Olivieri,  CAidimil—coii/initad 
by  the  Signory  to  procure  the  separa- 
tion of  S.  Marco  from  the  Lonib. 
Congr.,  96  f.  ;  and  to  jiromoie  the 
extension  of  the  reform,  104  ff.  ;  and 
to  ])rociire  permission  for  S.  to  ])reach, 
198  ;  he  procures  the  Brief  of  Separa- 
tion, 195;  and  is  believed  to  have 
obtained  permission  for  S.  to  preach, 
199,  202 ;  is  appointed  Vicar  of  the 
new  Congr.,  214  ff.,  249;  and  takes 
the  matter  in  hand,  221,  227,  252, 
257  f.  ;  said  to  have  been  instru- 
mental in  procuring  the  excommuni- 
cation, 234 ;  is  appt)inted  one  of  the 
commission  of  reform  at  Rome,  259 
{c/.  261),  271  ;  S.  regards  him  as  a 
friend,  but  does  not  place  much  con- 
fidence in  him,  423 ;  said  to  have 
written  to  him,  428 

"Cardinal  or  Pope,  greater  than," 
Savonarola's  alleged  ambition  to  be, 
420 

Cardinals,  the  Roman,  opinions  of 
concerning  S.,  194,  201,  203  f.  ; 
concerning  the  ordeal,  347  ;  dealings 
of  S.  witli,  very  few,  423,  428  ;  he  is 
accused  of  speaking  ill  of,  204  If. 

Cardinal's  hat,  alleged  offer  of,  to  S., 
210  and  no/e ;  rejected  with  scorn, 
idle/. 

Careggi,  Lorenzo  de'  Medici's  villa,  81 

"  Carnascialeschi,  Canli,"  i.e.  licentious 
Carnival  songs,  40  f. 

Carnesecchi,  Piero,  speech  of,  in  de- 
bate, 312 

Carnival,  the,  at  Florence,  40  f.  ;  in 
1496,  198  f.  ;  in  1497,  224;  in  149S, 
282,  284,  301,  391 

Casanova,  E.,  and  Villari,  P.,  character 
of  their  "Scelta  di  Prediche,"  etc., 
27 

"  Casket,  the  opening  of  the,"  418 

Castiglione, ,  Milanese  ambassador 

at  Florence,  a  letter  of,   179  cf.  164 

Catherine  de'  Ricci,  S.,  s.  v.  Ricci 

Catherine  of  Siena,  S.,  her  prophecies, 
58,  69  KO^e 

Cattani,  Niccolo,  261 

"Cattivi,"  I.e.  "the  wicked,"  stig- 
matised by  S.,  32,  289;  and  s.  v. 
"Tristi" 

Cavalcanti,  Bartolommeo,  gives  notice 
of  intended  attack  on  S.  Marco,  352 

Ceccone,  Ser ;  s.  v.  Francesco  di  Ser 
Barone,  Ser 

"  Cedrus  Libani,"  the,  a  poem  by  Fra 
Benedetto  da  Firen/.e,  103,  359  ff. 

Censures,  Papal,   practical   importance 


of,  203,  311  {{.  ;  declared  invalid 
in  advance  by  S.,  220;  law  of 
obedience  to,  conditions  of  validity, 
etc.,  243  ff.  ;  Signory  absolved  from, 
372  ;  they  seek  and  obtain  a  fuller 
absolution,  373  ff.  ;  and  s.  vv.  Ex- 
communication, Interdict 

Ceremonies,  ecclesiastical,  Savonarola's 
opinions  on,  32  f.,  275  J  novel 
devised  by  him,  33 ;  and  s.  vv. 
Dance,  Procession,  Litanies 

Cerretani,  Bartolommeo,  his  chronicle, 
119,  125,  346,  357  Ho^e 

Cerretani,  Giovanni,  declines  to  sign 
the  "subscription,"  402 

Certainty,  subjective,  of  S.  relative  to 
his  visions,  etc.,  52,  65,  275  f.,  283  f., 
290,  412;  of  Fra  Domenico,  344, 
3S6  f. ,  404  f. 

Challenge  to  God,  66  f.  ;  and  s.  vv. 
Adjuration,  Miracle ;  to  ordeal, 
337  ff.,  420 

Charity,  commended  byS.,  153,  294  f.; 
the  "forma"  of  religious  life,  218; 
the  end  or  purpose  of  all  ceremonies, 
of  all  theology,  etc.,  275 

Charles  VIIL,  his  invasion  of  Italy 
marks  a  new  era,  113  ;  he  is  hailed 
beforehand  by  S.  as  the  new  Cyrus, 
114;  his  negotiations  for  a  passage 
through  Italy,  116;  crosses  the  Alps, 
sack  of  Rapallo,  120  ;  pretext  for  the 
expedition,  121 ;  motives  and  in- 
tentions, 122;  is  met  by  P.  de' 
Medici,  123 ;  and  by  Savonarola, 
127;  at  Florence,  132;  departs 
thence,  133;  rapid  conquest  of 
Naples,  114,  117,  137;  inglorious 
return,  I17,  135,  137;  shows  favour 
to  P.  de'  Medici,  137  ;  rough  answer 
to  Florentine  envoys,  I'did.  ;  met  by 
S.  at  Poggibonsi,  138;  delusive  hopes 
in,  140,  211,  224;  sends  assistance 
to  Florentines,  223 ;  S.  said  to  have 
preached  against,  139;  declared  by 
him  to  be  not  yet  "  repprobato," 
136  f.,  224;  letters  of  S.  to,  141  ff., 
325,  3S8,  391  f.,  415,  419  ;  he  vouch- 
safes no  reply,  415;  death  of,  393; 
and  s.  V.  Alliance,  French  ;  Invasion, 
French 

Chastisements  predicted  or  threatened 
by  S.,  49,  201,  209,  386,  411  ;  and 
s.  v.  Tribulation 

Chieregato,  Lionello,  Bishop  of  Con- 
cordia, thanked  by  the  Pope  for 
having  preached  against  S.,  434  tiote 

Children,  reform  of,  at  Florence,  32, 
43  ff.,  19S  f.  ;  Landucci  on,  199; 
collection   of  alms   by,    44  f.,    202; 


2  F 


45° 


INDEX 


Children — conh'imed 

police  of,  45  ft'. ;  speech  of,  to  Signory, 
47  ;  alleged  government  of  Florence 
by,  turned  to  ridicule  in  Rome,  204 ; 
kept  from  sermons  oi  S.,  281  ;  many 
volunteer  for  ordeal,  331 

Christ,  conditional  propositions  deroga- 
tory to,  "Christ  would  lie,"  etc., 
189,  210 

Christmas  1497,  S.  being  excommuni- 
cate publicly  celebrates  Mass  at,  272, 
296 

Chronicles,  Dominican,  their  testimony 
to  the  character  of  Torriano,  437  note 

Cibo,  Franceschetto,  favourite  nephew 
of  Innocent  VIII.,  23  ;  marriage  of, 
with  Maddalena  de'  Medici,  23  note 

"  Cimento,"  the,  338  ;  and  s.  v.  Ordeal 

Cini,  Francesco,  one  of  the  Eight  in 
May  149S,  absent  when  S.  is  con- 
demned, 371  Jtote 

Cinozzi,  Girolamo,  394 

Cinozzi,  Piero,  deposition  of,  394,  414 

Cinozzi,  Placido,  his  biographical  sketch 
ofS.,  9,  12,  37,  43,  f.,  77.  326  note, 
374  f.  7iote 

Cioni,  Ser  Filippo,  a  notary  charged 
to  supervise  the  "Subscription," 
402,  404 

"Cito  et  velociter,"  the  Church  to  be 
reformed,  etc.,  63,  87,  cf.  292,  439 

Cittadella,  Luigi  Nap.,  on  genealogy 
of  Savonarola  family,  4 

"Civilta  Cattolica,"  the,  on  the  ex- 
communication, 241  note 

Claiming  and  disclaiming,  190  ;  and 
s.  V.  Contradictory  Statements,  etc. 

Clement  XIV.,  Pope,  suppression  of 
Society  of  Jesus  by,  221 

Clergy,  reprehension  of  by  S.,  154, 
209,  228,  289  f.,  392,  and  s.  V. 
Rome  ;  bad,  to  be  expelled,  209,  278, 
280 

Codiponte,  Fra  S.  da,  s.  v.  Stefano  da 
Codiponte 

Coincidences,  remarkable  historical, 
140  ttote 

"CoUegio,"  the,  a  consultative  com- 
mittee at  Florence,  consisting  of 
the  Gonfalonieri  and  the  ''  Buoni 
Uomini,"    150,   163,    175,   317.    324. 

334 

Colonna  family,  feuds  of,  in  Rome,  23 

Commines  (or  Comines)  Philippe  de, 
his  memoirs,  1 16  note 

Commissaries,  Papal,  to  try  Savonarola, 
appointed,  383 ;  examination  of  S. 
by,  421  ff.  ;  Villari  on  the  "vain 
efforts"  of,  429;  their  letter  report- 
ing the   result  of  the  trial,  434  ff.; 


their   action   discussed,   368,    429  f., 

432  ff.  ;    and    s.    v.    Romolino,    F.  ; 

Torriano,  G. 
Commission  of  Reform,  appointed   by 

Alexander  VI.   in   June    1497,   259, 

261,  264 
Commission,   special,    to   examine   the 

case  of  S.  (i)  at  Rome  in  1496,  204  ; 

(2)  at   Florence,  in    1498,    315;  (3) 

in   1554,  under  Paul  IV.,  429  note ; 

to  examine  S.  personally,  at  Florence, 

1498,  370  f. 
Committee  of  Public  Safety  at  Florence, 

1497,  233;  to  supervise  the  ordeal, 

1498,  346 

"  Compagnacci,"  the,  a  political  faction 
or  association  at  Florence,  their  out- 
rage in  the  Duomo  on  Ascension 
Day  1497,  231  ;  their  attempt  to 
disturb  the  Carnival  procession,  etc., 
284,  301  ;  their  presence  at  the 
ordeal,  340;  regarded  by  Pulinari  as 
a  protection  provided  by  God  (!),  340 
note ;  said  to  have  intended  a  violent 
attack  on  S.,  etc.,  345  ff.  ;  their 
action  in  promoting  the  riot,  etc., 
349  ff.  (ch.  yi-x..  passim) 

"Compendium  Revelationum,"  the, 
30,  49  ff.,    115,   118,   124,    129,   182, 

Complicity,  loose  notions  of,  436,  and 

cf.  168 
"  Conclusions,"    Savonarola's    famous, 

27,  52,  439 ;  Fra  Domenico's,  329, 

337 

Confession,  Sacramental,  alleged  use 
of  knowledge  acquired  in,  379,  434  ff., 
435  and  }iote;  misleading  terminology 
with  reference  to,  379  f. ,  425  f. 

Congregations  of  the  Dominican  Order, 
relation  of,  to  Provinces,  90  note,  92 
7iote,  iio,2\i\note ;  (i)  the  Lombard, 
61,  90,  97  ft",  105,  191, 193, 195,  2I4f., 
220,  389,  418;  (2)  the  Tuscan,  109, 
191  ;  (3)  of  S.  Marco,  89,  91  ff., 
lOi  ff.,  378,  389  ;  (4)  the  Roman  and 
Tuscan,  214,  220,  227,  236,  238,  241, 
248,  250,  264,  275 

Conjecture  and  prophecy,  69 

Conscience,  God  alone  the  judge  of, 
160 

"Consiglio  Maggiore,"  the,  at  Flor- 
ence, recommended  by  S.,  after  the 
Venetian  model,  156;  the  project 
supported  by  Soderini,  and  by  the 
Ten,  157  f.;  established,  157  f.;  its 
character,  not  purely  democratic, 
158  f.;  right  of  appeal  to,  164;  S. 
magnifies  the  authority  of  166; 
defends  his  action  with  reference  to, 


INDEX 


451 


"Consiglio  Maggiorc  " — continued 
211  ;    deplores  the  admis'^ion  of  un- 
worthy  members,    222  ;    age   of   ad- 
mission to,  lowered,  224 

"Consiglio  dcgli  Ottanta,"  the  Floren- 
tine Senate  under  the  new  constitu- 
tion, 163  f.,  308 

"  Consiglio  de'  Kichicsti  "  at  Florence, 
consisting  of  the  Kighty  and  certain 
magistrates  holding  places  ex  officio, 
30S,  370 

"Consiglio  de'  Settanta,"  the  elective 
Council  under  the  rule  of  the  Medici, 
abolished,  151 

Consistency  of  Savonarola's  attitude  to 
Alexander  VI.,  239 

Conspiracy  (i)  of  the  Pazzi  in  1478, 
20 ;  (2)  of  F.  Corbizi  and  com- 
panions in  1496,  168  7wte ;  (3)  of 
Mediceans  in  r497,  16S  ff. ;  and  s.  v. 
Nero,  Hernardo  del 

Constitution,  the  Florentine,  I49  ff., 
157  ff. 

Contempt  of  the  Holy  See,  Savonarola's 
alleged,  320 

Continuity  of  Florentine  constitution, 
151  ;  and  of  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
republic,  150 

Contradictions,  Savonarola's,  190 

Contumacy,  Savonarola's  alleged,  305  ; 
and  s.  V.  Disobedience 

"Conveniicoli,"  secret  political  meet- 
ings, denounced  l)y  S.,  222,  cf.  161 

Conventuals  and  Observantines  (O.P.), 

219     .  .  o  . 

Conversing  with  God,  188  f.  ;  in  the 
form  of  a  youth,  etc.,  412  note 

Corbizi,  Filippo,  Gonfaloniere  in  Janu- 
ary 1475,  178;  engages  in  a  plot, 
April  1496,  168  note 

Corruption  in  high  places,  285 

Corsi,  Fra  Lorenzo  (O.F.M.),  337 

Corsi,  Luigi,  one  of  the  Gonfalonieri, 
speeches  of,  in  debate,  308  f. ,  334 

Corsini,  Luca,  speech  of,  in  debate,  335 

Corsini,  Piero,  suggested  as  candidate 
for  office  of  Gonfaloniere,  401 

Cortona,  Dominican  convent  at,  1 10, 
214 

Cosci,  Antonio  (see  Bibliographical 
List),  his  opinions  mentioned,  dis- 
cussed, etc.,  42,  99,  175,  177 

Costa,  Giorgio  cla.  Cardinal,  Arch- 
bishop of  Lisbon,  a  member  of  the 
Commission  of  Reform,  259;  believed 
to  be  friendly  to  S.,  423 

Costabili,  Antonio,  Ferrarese  ambas- 
sador at  Milan,  letter  from,  260 

Council  General,  appeal  to  from  Pope, 
the  right  of  aflirmed  by  Gers.'n,  who 


is  quoted  (apparently  with  approval) 
by  .S.,  240;  but  condemned  by 
Pius  IL  in  Bull,  Exccrabilis,  430, 
432  ;  project  for  assembly  of,  to  de- 
pose Alexander  VL,  121,  287,  325, 
366  ff.,  375,  3S4,  419,  423,  426  ft., 
429  ff.;  this  the  principal  charge 
against  S.,  366  f.,  369,  429  ff. 

Cowardice,  precautions  against,  on 
occasion  of  ordeal,  328 

Creighton,  Mandell  (see  Bibliographical 
List),  opinions  of  mentioned,  14,  16, 
18,  84 

Criminal  law,  severity  of,  366 

Cunning,  alleged,  of  S.,  57 

"  Cyrus,"  the  new,  i.e.  Charles  VIII. 
of  France,  114  ff.,  117,  121 

Dances,  sacred,  orgajiised  by  S.,  42  f., 
284 

Daniel,  the  Prophet,  the  seventy  weeks 
made  known  to,  57 

"Dark  sayings  "  of  S.,  418 

Dates,  corrected  or  established,  14, 
26  note,  184,  186,  194,  200,  203  note, 
210  f.  note,  212,  224 

Davanzati,  Francesco,  employed  by 
Savonarola  to  make  arrangements  for 
the  ordeal,  338 ;  helps  to  supply 
arms  to  S.  Marco,  352  ;  dissuades  the 
defenders  from  active  hostilities,  354  ; 
his  deposition,  396 

David,  his  dancing  before  the  Ark,  43  ; 
his  five  stones,  279 

Debates,  "  Practiche,"  in  CoUegio  or 
Consiglio  de'Richiesti,  125,  135,  200, 
202,  233,  269,  282,  302  f.,  309  ff., 
334  f-.  370,  373.  3^0  f.,  3S3; 
manner  of  conducting,  262 

Decentralisation  of  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment, 439 

Decretals,  the,  58,  181 

Delay  in  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  54 

Deliverance,  manifold,  of  Florence,  279 

Delusion,  probable,  of  S.,  51  ff.,  64,  67, 
137,  146,  177,  I99>  269 

Demoralisation,  widespread,  in  Italy,  24 

Denunciation,  s.  vv.  Invective,  Clergy 

Deposition,  the  genuine,  of  S.,  garbled, 
etc. ,  408  f. 

Despots,  Italian,  3  m:e,  23  ;  and  s.  v. 
"  Tyrants" 

Destitution,  at  Florence,  34 

Detachment,   virtue   of,    inculcated  by 

s.,  31 

Deti,  Ormanozzo,  speeches  of,  in  debate, 

315.335  ,    ,,     ,     , 

Deuteronomy,  the  Look  of,  190 
De%-oiion,    false,    stigmatised     by    S., 

244 


452 


INDEX 


Diabolical  agency,  possibility  of  in 
supposed  private  revelations,  55,  71  5 
but  not  postulated  in  the  case  of  S., 

Dialogue,  use  of  in  sermons,  by  i^., 
30;  with  "the  Tempter,"  55  f- 5 
with  "human  wisdom,"  273;  the 
"  Dyalogus  de  Veritate  Prophetica,' 
65  S.,  429  ?!0U ;  in  Guicciardini, 
"  Del  Reegimento  di  Firenze,"  167 
fiofe;  in  Vivoli's  "  Giornate,"  and  in 
Fra  Benedetto's  "  Vulnera  diligenlis," 
409  note 

"  Dieci,"  the,  Florentine  magistracy, 
s.  V.  "Ten,  the" 

Dino,  Dine  di,  writes  to  S.  from  Rome, 
417 

Dino,  Giovanni  di,  suggested  as  can- 
didate for  office  of  Gonfaloniere,  401 

Dino  (or  Dini),  Jacopo  di,  employed 
by  S.  to  arrange  benches  in  the 
Duomo,  417 

Diolomatic  correspondence,  s.  yy. 
Becchi,  Bonsi,  Bracci,  Costabili, 
Manfredi,  Somenzi,  Taverna,  Tran- 
chedino 

Disappointment,  Savonarola's,  in  love, 
5;  at  failure  in  the  pulpit,  13;  at 
failure  of  Charles  VIII.  to  carry  out 
the  work  of  reformation,  etc.,  137 

Disobedience,  Savonarola's,  191,  204, 
216,  268.  272,  277,  416,  440;  and 
see  Analytical  Table  of  Contents, 
especially  chaps,  x.-xii.,  xiv.,  xv. 

Dispensations,    alleged    invalidity    of, 

221 
"Dispregio  del  Mondo,  del,    Savona- 
rola's tract,  6  f. 
Dissensions  at  Florence,  ascribed  to  S., 

203,  426 

Doctrine  of  S.,  188,  193,252,281,302; 
and  s.  v.  Orthodoxy 

Doge,  Venetian,  nothing  corresponding 
to  in  new  Florentine  constitution, 
171  f.  ;  an  equivalent  sought  in  the 
"  Gonfaloniere  a  vita,"  appointed  in 
1502,  172  and  no/e;  alleged  design  of 
S.  to  gain  this  position  for  Valori,  413 

Dogs,  the,  of  the  clergy,  289 

Domenico  Buonvicino  da  Pescia,  Fra, 
s.  V.  "  Buonvicino" 

Domenico  da  Ponzo,  Fra  (O.F.M.), 
opposes  the  projected  law  ot  appeal, 

161  ff.  ;  personal  rivalry  of  with  S., 
whose  prophetical  mission  he  denies, 

162  ff".  and  notes;  and  assures  the 
people  that  they  have  been  deceived, 
165  f.  ;  the  affair  referred  to  by  con- 
temporary writers,  164  note 

••Dominedio,  Messer,"  388,  394 


Dominic,  S.,  K)2,  288 

Dreams,  Salvestro's,  388,  390,  r/.  412 

Dress,  regulations  for,  suggesteJ  V)y  S., 

39 
"  Drunken    counsel,"   the,    of    P.    de' 

Medici,  Il4f. 
"  Dy.dogus    dc    Veritate    Prophetica," 

the,  65  ff.,  placed  on  the  Index,  429 

note 

Easter,  1498,  torture  of  S.  continued 
during,  371,  373 

"  Egyptians,"  the,  enemies  of  Savona- 
rola likened  to,  289 

"  Eight,  the,"  Florentine  magistracy, 
their  office,  150 ;  said  to  have  stopped 
a  Pope's  messenger,  203  ;  members 
of  implicated  in  a  sacrilegious  outrage, 
231;  hostile  to  S.,  233;  the  whole 
Board  attends  sermons  of  S.,  302; 
deposed  as  too  friendly  to  S.,  and 
fresh  Board  elected,  370;  B.  Inghir- 
lami  a  member  of,  398 

"Eighty,  the,"  s.  v.  "Consiglio  degli 
Ottanta  " 

"Elect  of  God,  the,"  their  office  to 
enlighten  the  Church,  144 

Elections  at  Florence,  manner  of,  partly 
by  sortilege,  149,  158;  alleged  can- 
vassing for,  by  Friars  of  S.  Marco 
and  supporters  of  S.,  284,  395,  414, 
418,  431 

"  Elements,"  corrupted,  287 

Eloquence,  Savonarola's,  440 

Embassy  of  Savonarola  to  Charles 
Vlll.,  127  ff. ;  the  meeting  at  Poggi- 
bonsi,  138 

Emperor,  s.  v.  Maximilian 

"  Enchantment,"  precautions  against, 
at  the  ordeal,  343 

Enemies  of  Savonarola,  281,  365 

Enthusiasm,  religious,  on  occasion  of  the 
ordeal,  333 

Epiphany,  1497,  celebration  on  the, 
272 

Equivocation,  alleged,  of  S.  under 
examination,  413 

Era,  a   new,    proclaimed   by   S.,  273, 

Error,     serious,     of    S.,     433,     44°  ; 

"vincible"   and   "invincible,"   243, 

252  ;     "  intolerable,"    term    in    use 

among  canonists,  246  ff. 
Escort,    Savonarola's,    194,    196,    345, 

352  note 
Espionage,  exercised  by  children  under 

direction  of  S.,  46 
d'Este,      Borso,      Duke     of     Ferrara, 

splendour  of  his  court,  3 ;  patron  of 

Michele  Savonarola,  i,  2  note,  3 


INDEX 


4$3 


d'Estc,  Ercole,  Duke  of  Ferrara,  his 
war  with  Venice,  il;  invites  Fra 
Mariano  to  preach  at  Ferrara,  90  ; 
opposes  separation  of  S.  Marco  from 
Lombard  Congregation,  96  ;  declines 
to  enter  the  League,  134;  seeks 
advice  of  S.  as  to  relations  with 
Charles  VIII.,  136  f.;  warns  S.  not 
to  be  compromised  by  dealings  with 
the  French,  223  ;  advised  by  S.,  224  ; 
alleged  to  have  visited  Florence 
to  hear  S.,  227;  intercedes  for 
Medicean  conspirators,  267  ;  praised 
by  S.  for  maintaining  a  peaceful 
policy,  269 ;  is  indignant  at  the 
dedication  to  himself  of  Pico's 
"Apology"  for  S.,  321  f.  ;  referred 
to  in  the  deposition  of  S.,  416; 
letters  from,  to  S.,  265;  to  Felino 
Sandeo,  321  ;  to  the  Pope,  322 

d'Este,  Lionello,  Marquis  of  Ferrara, 
patron  of  Michele  Savonarola,  I,  2 
note 

d'Este,  Niccolo,  Marquis  of  Ferrara,  in- 
vites Michele  Savonarola  to  court,  i 

Eucharist,  the  Holy,  Savonarola  on, 
35,  56  ;  and  s.  v.  Host,  consecrated  ; 
Sacrament,  etc. 

Evidence,  circumstantial,  required  as 
a  condition  of  examination  under 
torture,  422 

Exaggerations,  Savonarola's  alleged, 
32,  38,  294 ;  and  s.  vv.  Rigorism ; 
Invective,  etc. 

Examination  of  S.  and  his  companions 
to  be  held  secretly,  370 ;  its  course, 
372  flf.,  garbling  of  evidence,  etc., 
407  ff.  ;  second  examination,  376  ; 
third  examination,  before  papal  com- 
missaries, 377  fT.  (see  Analytical  Table 
of  Contents,  chap.  xxi.  and  xxiii. ) ;  of 
other  prisoners,  385  fi'.  (see  Contents, 
chap,  xxii.) 

Example,  evil,  the  tyranny  of,  34 

Exchequer,  Florentine,  exhausted  state 
of,  211  ;  and  s.  v.  Taxes 

"  Excomnumicate  of  God,"  275  f.  ; 
"  excommunicate  with  Christ,"  276  ; 
"excommunicate  in  name,"  285 

Excommunication  of  Savonarola,  pre- 
sentiment of,  200 ;  declared  invalid 
beforehand,  219  {cf.  209)  ;  impend- 
ing, 229  ;  the  Brief  of,  232,  235  f.  ; 
publication  at  Florence,  236 ;  its 
validity  discussed  or  denied,  237, 
241,  249,  260,  265,  273  f.,  277, 
300  f.,  327,  392,  416;  to  uiaintain 
its  validity  alleged  to  be  heresy  (!), 
280;  prophecies  fulfilled  by,  280 

Excommunications  cheap  to-day  !  283 


Excuses,  Savonarola's,  181  ff.,  104 
Execution  of  S.,  etc.,  380  f1'.,  42.S 
Exiles,  147,  173;  and  s.  vv.  Amnesty, 

Banishment 
Exodus,  sermons  on,  286  fT. 
Expulsion   of  clergy   proposed   by  S., 

209,  278,  280 
Extravagant  language  of  S.,  166 
Ezechiel,  sermons  on,  222 
Ezzelino  da  Romano,  I 

Factions  at  Florence,  211.  and  s.  v. 
Parlies 

Faith,  the  habit  of,  and  belief  in 
prophecy,  59,  68,  189  ;  joy  of  death 
in,  260  ;  a  chief  gift  of  God,  266  ; 
a  participation  in  the  divine  immuta- 
bility, 293  f.  ;  in  S.,  breakdown  of, 
376  ff. 

F;ilse  information,  192,  219;  and  s.  v. 
Calumny,  etc. 

Falsified  evidence,  369,  374  f.,  407  f.  ; 
and  s.  v.  Process 

Famine  at  Florence,  211,  213 

Fasting,  Savonarola's  counsel  on,  39,  cf. 
265  ;  in  preparation  for  ordeal,  338 

Fathers  of  the  Church  referred  or 
appealed  to,  28,  59,  237 

"  Fattoraccio,  Fra,"  nickname  of  Fra 
Domenico  Buonvicino,  387 

Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  and  Isabella  of 
Castile,  draft  letter  of  S.  to,  325 

Ferranle  I.  (of  Aragon)  King  of  Naples, 
his  death  predicted  by  S.,  the  pre- 
diction fulfilled,  76;  opposes  the 
separation  of  S.  Marco  from  Lombard 
Congregation,  96;  his  death  ascribed 
to  alarm  at  the  approacli  of  Charles 
VIII.,  117  note 

Ferrante  II.  (of  Aragon),  King  of 
Naples,  succeeds  Alfonso  II.,  1 17 
note  ;  joins  the  League,  133 

Ferrara,  condition  of,  i  tf.,  6;  S. 
preaches  at,  11  ;  war  with  Venice, 
II,  21  ;  pacific  policy  of,  134,  269 

P"erraross;i,  Ser  Benedetto  da,  s.  v. 
Benedetto  da  F. 

Ferrer,  S.  Vincent,  58 

Fiesole,  Dominican  convent  at,  united 
with  S.  Marco,  loi,  104,  106,  no 

Filipepi  [^alias  Botticelli),  Simonc,  his 
chronicle  (see  Bibliographical  List), 
37,  207,  336  note,  343,  etc. 

"Fire  from  heaven,"  called  for  by  S., 
2S3 

I'irenzuola,  Ser  Bastiano  da;  s.  v. 
Bastiano  da  F. 

Firenzuola,  Fra  Raffaelle  da ;  s.  v. 
Rattaelle  da  F. 

Flattery   of  Florentine  people,  by  S. 


454 


INDEX 


Flallery — contiutied 

72,  156;  of  Alexander  VI.  by  brethren 
of  S.  Marco,  37S 

Florence,  constitution  of,  148  ff.  ;  bless- 
ings of,  as  rehearsed  by  S.,  73  note ; 
the  centre  or  watchtower  of  Italy, 
50,  72,  156,  209;  manifold  deliverance 
of,  7.12.  i.,  279;  flattery  of,  by  S.,  s.  v. 
Flattery  ;  prosperity  of,  predicted  by 
S.,  62,  143  and  note,  386  ;  said  to  be 
governed  by  S.  and  a  troop  of 
children,  134,  203  f. ,  227  ;  dissensions 
in,  ascribed  to  S.,  164  note,  176  nets, 
194  ff.,  203  f.,  etc. ;  the  imputation  re- 
pelled, byS.,  192,  and  by  the  Ten,  227 

"  Folly,  holy,"  43 

Forbearance,  need  of,  under  new  con- 
stitution, 170;  of  Alexander  VI. 
towards  S.,  201 

Forged  letter  of  S.  to  Charles  VIII. 
waylaid,  212  and  note 

Forged  pi^cess,  s.  vv.  Process,  Falsified 
Evidence 

Fortini,  Tommaso,  speech  of,  in  debate, 

314 

Fortresses,  cession  of  by  P.  de'  Medici 
to  Charles  VIII.,  123  ;  popular 
indignation  at,  124 

"Foriim  internum  et  externum,"  in 
Canon  Law,  etc.,  245  f. 

France,  Florentine  alliance  with,  sup- 
ported by  a  strong  party,  122  f.; 
favoured  by  S.,  134?-.  142,  209, 
223 ;  complained  of,  by  Alexander 
VI.,  203,  226,  270,  298 

Francesco  del  Pugliese  disapproves  the 
"subscription,"  but  signs  it,  404; 
employed  to  write  to  England  on 
behalf  of  the  projected  Council,  419; 
takes  up  arms  in  defence  of  S.  Marco, 
"  panting  like  a  bull,"  391 

Francesco  di  Puglia,  Fra  (O.F.M.) 
challenges  I'Va  Domenico  to  an  ordeal 
at  Prat®,  but  leaves  the  city  before  the 
time,  326  f.  ;  repeats  his  challen'^e  at 
Florence,  327  ;  deposits  his  challenge 
with  the  Signory,  ljut  dechnes  to  enter 
the  fire  with  any  one  but  S.  himself, 
329 ;  sentence  of  banishment  against, 
in  case  of  failure,  337  ;  arrives  on  the 
.scene,  341  ;  negotiations  as  to  con- 
ditions of  ordeal,  343 ;  his  motives 
discussed,  332,  345  f.  {cf.  327  note,  328 
note) ;  is  thanked,  with  his  brethren, 
by  the  Pope,  and  they  are  rewarded 
by  the  Signory,  348 

Francesco  di  Ser  Barone,  Ser  (commonly 
called  "Ser  Ceccone  "),  falsifies  the 
deposition  of  S.,  365,  369,  374,  404, 
407!.,  421,  435;  and  s.  v.  Process 


Francis,  S.,  Christ  spoke  to,  56;  will 
descend  upon  his  Order,  288  ;  invoked 
by  Dominicans  at  ordeal,  342 

Franciscans,  some  friendly  to  Savona- 
rola, 266,  331  ;  of  S.  Croce,  their 
behaviour  at  the  ordeal,  338,  342,  344, 
346  f. 

"  Frataccio,  Uno  (one  beggarly  friar 
more  or  less),"  384 

"  Frateschi,"  party-name  at  Florence, 

254,  315.  320,  339  f-,  345..  350  f- 
French  invasion,  s.  v.  Invasion 
"Friar    Florence,"  289 
"  Friar"  sauce,  222 
"Friar — you,    my   fellow  -  citizens    are 

the,"  287 
Fulfilment  of  prophecy,  s.  v.  Prophecy 
Functions   contrived    by    S.,    33;    and 

s.  v.  Ceremonies 
"  Fuorusciti,  Potenti,"  "the  plague  of 

powerful    exiles,"    147  ;     and   s.    v. 

Exiles 

Gallo,  S.,  s.  v.  San  Gallo 

Gambling  at  Florence,  45  ff.,  213  ;   at 

Prato,  207  note 
Gandia,  Duke  of,  s.  v.  Borgia,  Piero 
Grnesis,  sermons  on,  118,  and  s.  v.  Ark 
Gennazzano,   Fra  M.  da,   s.  v.    Barba 

Mariano  della 
Gerson,  Johannes,  on    Prophecy,  etc., 

66,  71  ;  on  limits  of  duty  of  obedience, 

240,  250  f. 
Gherardi,  Alessandro,  his  collection  of 

documents  (see  Bibliographical  List), 

14,  and  notes  passim  ;  dates  corrected 

by,  s.  V.  Dates 
Ghimenti,    Michele,    citizen   of  Prato, 

signs  the  "forma  vivendi,"  207 
Ghivizzano, ,  Mantuan  ambassador 

at    Florence,    describes    the    relbrm 

effected  by  S.,  36,  38 
Giacomo   di   Sicilia,    Fra    (O.P. ),    ap- 
pointed to  carry  out  project  of  new 

Congregation,  216 
Gianfigliazzi,     Bartolommea,     reputed 

prophetess,  427 
Gianfigliazzi,  Jacopo,  accompanies  P.  de' 

Medici  to  the  French  camp,  123  note 
Giannotti,  Donate,  on    the    Florentine 

constitution,  etc.,  149 
Gianviltorio  da  Camerino,  232,  257  ff. 

letter  of,  258 
Gimignano,  S.,  s.  v.  San  Gimignano 
Gini,  Girolamo,  takes  the  habit  during 

the   Riot,   361  ;    his  deposition,   353, 

360  f 
"  Giornate,"  the,  of  Lorenzo  Vivoli  (see 

Bibliographical  List),  throws  light  on 

the  examination  of  S.,  407  ff. 


Index 


455 


Giraldi,  Antonio,  declines  to  sign  the 
"subscription,"  403 

Giugni,  Filippo,  declines  to  sign  the 
"  subscription, "  402 

Giustina,  S. ,  s.  v.  Santa  Giustina 

"Glory,"  the  alleged  motive  of  S.,  the 
intentional  ambiguity  of  the  word, 
410,  412 

Gondi,  Giuliano,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
312 

Gonfaloniere  a  vita,  appointment  of  a, 
at  Florence,  1502,  172  ;  alleged 
design  of  S.  to  secure  the  appoint- 
ment of  Valori  as,  413 

Gonfaloniere  di  Giuslizia,  the  chief 
magistrate  at  Florence,  149 ;  and 
s.  vv,  Valori,  Fr. ;  Nero,  B.  del ; 
Popoleschi,  P. 

Gonzaga,  Cristofano,  alleged  intercession 
of  S.  on  behalf  of,  416 

"Good  men,"  s.  vv.  "  Buoni  Uomini," 
and  "Twelve,  the" 

"  Good  news  from  heaven,"  S.  pro- 
claims, 273,  279 

Gordon,  General,    S.    compared   with, 

43? 

Gossip,  of  Fra  Salvestro,  390,  395  ;  and 
s.  V.  Maruffi,  Fra,  S. 

Government,  Florentine,  s.  v.  Con- 
stitution, Florentine 

"Governo  Siretto,"  the  name  or  de- 
scription of  the  aristocratic  polity  of 
pre-Medicean  times,  desired  by  many 
after  the  expulsion  of  P.  de'  ^Iedici, 

I57>  175.  413  ..  . 

"Gragnola,"  i.e.  "  Hail,"  S.  likens  his 

preaching  to,  291 
"  Gran  maestri,"  2S9  ;  three  (Savona- 
rola,   Domenico,    and   Salvestro)  at 

S.  Marco,  389 
"Gran  maestro,"  A,  i.e.  the  Pope,  285 
"  Grandi,"  s.  v.  "  Ollimati" 
Gr.iuert,  Dr  Hermann,  his  opinion  on 

the  validity  of  simoniacal  election  to 

the  Papacy,  430,  432  f. 
"Gravity,"  in  processions, recommended 

by  S.  to  children,  43,  284 
"Great  things  in  Italy,"  projected  by 

S.,  420 
Gregorovius,  Ferdinand,  his  opinion  on 

the  League,  133 
Gregory,    S.,  will  descend   on    Rome, 

288  ;   his  charity  to  the  poor,  291  ; 

his  buoks  in  danger  of  being  burnt 

by  Sabinianus,  ibid. 
"  Greys,"  political  party  at   Florence, 

s.  V.  "  Bigi  " 
Grisar,  Haitmann   (S.J.).  on  Benedict 

XIV.'s  "Catalogue  of  Saints,"  etc, 

441  710  te 


Gualterotti,  Francesco,  Florentine  am- 
bassador at  Milan,  202  ;  speech  of, 
in  debate,  264,  312,  335  ;  a  member 
of  the  committee  to  supervise  the 
ordeal,  346  ;  enumerated  among  the 
chief  supporters  of  S.,  414 

Guasconi,  Gioacchino,  Florentine  am- 
bassador in  France,  325;  S.  repeatedly 
writes  to  him,  417  ;  induces  Maz- 
zinghi  to  write  to  him,  325,  391, 
419;  his  reply,  391,  393 

Guasti,  Cesare,  his  opinion  on  the 
invitation  of  S.  to  Lucca,  177 

Guicciardini,  Francesco,  asserts  the 
complicity  of  Sixtus  IV.  in  the  con- 
spiracy of  the  Pazzi,  20  fto/e  ;  char- 
acter of  his  treatise,"  Del  Reg;;imento 
di  Firenze,  "  167  note  ;  his  "  iJiscorsi 
sulle  mutazione,"  etc.,  149  note ;  his 
views  on  the  Florentine  constitution, 
chap.  ix.  passim  (text  and  notes); 
his  account  of  the  riot,  357  ff. 

Guicciardini,  Piero,  one  of  the  speakers 
in  the  dialogue  "Del  Reggimento," 
etc.,  167  note,  169;  speech  of,  in 
debate,  315 

Guidetti,  Tommaso,  399 

"  Guilty  or  not  guilty?"  not  the  issue 
which  the  Papal  Commissaries  had 
to  try,  384,  cf.  433. 

"  Hail,"  "La  gragnola,"  Savonarola's 

description  of  his  own  preaching  as, 

291 
Harlots,  Roman,  201 
Haste  in  examination  of  S.,  371 
Hearers  of  Savonarola's  prophecies  are 

believers  therein,  80 
"Hell"  —  "  Mandami     in     inferno!" 

273;  "I   could   tell   you  who   is  in 

h ,"  278 

Henry  VII.  of  England,  letter  to,  325, 

419,   423  ;    written    because    S.    had 

"  heard  that  he  was  a  good  man,"  423 
Heresy,    alleged,    of    Savonarola,     59, 

204,  402,  429,  438 
Heretic,  whoever  maintains  the  validity 

of  the  excommunication  declared  by 

S.  to  be  a,  280,  28 1,  435 
Herod,   fulfilled    prophecy  against  his 

will,  237 
Hilary,  S.,  sufferings  of,  etc.,  237 
Holy  Week  and  Easter  149S,  371,  374 
Host,  consecrated,  made  instrument  in 

asseveration, of  alleged  truth,  2756"., 

343  f.,  420,  435,  and  note 
Humility,  a  test  of  revelation,  etc.,  66, 

153,  1 88,  251 
Hungary,  King  01,  S.  writes  to,  etc., 

325,  419,  423 


456 


INDE?^ 


Hypociisy  of  Alexander  VI.,  siis:gested, 

195 
Hypocrites,  the  followers  of  S.  called, 

289 

"Idols  of  the  Gentiles,  the,"  282 

lesio,  Francesco  da,  signs  the  "  sub- 
scription," 402 

Ignatius  of  Loyola,  S.,  his  ascetical 
system  compared  with  that  of  S.,  31  ; 
perhaps  had  the  wiitings  of  S.  in 
view,  ibid,  note  ;  importance  attached 
by  him  to  education  of  youth,  43  ;  on 
spiritual  colour-blindness,  52  f.  7iote 

Illee:alities    committed    in    the    trial    of 

s;  365 

Illuminism,  a  dangerous  form  of,  68 

Illusion,  possibility  of  diabolical,  recog- 
nised by  S.,  55  f.  ;  by  Fra  Salvestro, 
388 

Imagination,  scope  given  to,  exposing 
S.  to  danger  of  delusion,  30,  55 

Immunities,  ecclesiastical,  must  yield 
before  exigencies  of  charity,  209 

Impostor  ?  was  S.  an,  51 

Imprisonment,  perpetual  of  S.  proposed, 
368,  433 

Inconsistency  of  S.,  190;  and  s.  v. 
Contradictions,  Claiming  and  Dis- 
claiming 

Independence,  prophetical,  of  S.,  188, 
305  ;  and  s.  v.,  Mission,  etc. 

"  Infidelity,  constructive,"  430 

Infidels,  conquest  of,  hoped  for  by  S., 
420 

"  Influence,  the  evil,"  to  be  resisted, 
288 

Inghirlami,  Baldo,  Dep. ,  354  f;  arrest 
of,  370  ;  deposition  of,  354  f. 

Ingratitude  of  Florentine  people  to  S., 
192,  211;  of  "Arrabbiati"  and 
"Falleschi"  in  particular,  212  f. 

Innocence,  personal,  of  Savonarola  in 
his  early  religious  life,  10  ;  so  far  as 
grave  sins  are  concerned,  probably 
to  the  end,  433 

Innocent  IV.,  Pope,  as  canonist,  on 
the  duty  of  obedience  to  ecclesiastical 
superiors  and  limits  thereof,  242, 
247 

Innocent  VIII.,  Pope,  his  election,  21  ; 
his  character,  22;  his  reign,  16  f., 
22  f. ;  his  nepotism,  23  ;  marriage  of 
his  children,  etc.,  ibit^.;  his  death 
predicted  by  S.,  76  ;  mentioned,  86, 

loS 
Inquisition,  Protestant  view  of,  364 
Insight,    natural,   and    prophecy,   440; 

and  s.  V,  Sagacity 
Inspiration,  alleged,  of  Savonarola,  49, 


194,  224 ;  and  s.  v.  Savonarola, 
ISIission,  Prophecy 

Insubordination  of  S.,  s.  v.  disobedience 

Interdict  on  Florence  1478,  20  f ;  on 
Venice,  21  ;  declared  invalid  before- 
hand by  S.  if  inflicted  on  Florence, 
203;  threatened,  300  ff.,  307,  322, 
392 

Interrogating  God,  a  source  of  delusion, 
67  ;  practised  by  S.,  61  ft".,  273  f. 

Intrepidity  of  S.,  440 

Intrigues,  political,  atS.  Marco,  alleged, 
393  ft". ;  S.  free  from,  414 

Invalidity,  alleged,  of  excommunication, 
s.  V.  Excommunication ;  conditions 
of,  220 

Invasion  of  Italy  by  Charles  VIII., 
prospects  of,  63,  70  >  predicted, 
Ii4ff. ;  negotiations  concerning,  116, 
120;  carried  out,  i2olf.  (chap.,  viii. 
passim) 

Invectives,  Savonarola's,  34,  49,  1961 
204,  210,  etc.;  and  s.  v.  Clergy, 
reprehension  of 

"  Irish  Rosary,  the,"  xiii.,  6  f.  7toies,  9  f. 
7iotes 

Isabella  (Sforza)  of  Anjou,  I2I 

Isabella  of  Castile,  Queen,  s.  v. 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella 

Isaiah,  the  prophet,  340  ;  absolute  pre- 
diction of,  340 

Italy,  wickedness  of,  53 

Jacopone  da  Todi,  Fra  (O.F.M.),  in- 
vited to  preach  before  Boniface  VIII., 
286 

Jeremiah,  the  prophet,  57  f.,  209,  293 

Jerome,  S.,  sufferings  of,  237 

Jewish  priests,  the  Signory  likened  to 

373 

Joachim  (Gioacchino)  Abbot  of  Flora, 
mediaeval  prophet,  69  note ;  S.  de- 
clares himself  not  indebted  to,  58 

Job,  referred  to,  285 

John,  S.  (the  Evangelist),  will  descend, 
etc.,  288 

John  Chrysostom,  S.,  persecution  of,  237 

John  of  the  Cross,  S.,  on  private  revela- 
tions, 67 

Joint  letters,  (i)  of  brethren  of  .S.  Marco, 
s.  V.  San  Marco  ;  (2)  of  Florentine 
citizens  in  favour  of  S. ;  s.  v.  "Sub- 
scription " ;  (3)  of  Florentine  mer- 
chants in  Rome  to  the  Signory,  319  f. 

Jonah,  the  prophet,  340 

Judah,  decadence  of,  analogy  between 
and  state  of  Italy.  49 

Judas,    Florentine  Signory  likened   to, 

383 
Julius  II.,  Pope  (Giulianodella  Rovere), 


INDEX 


4S7 


Julius  II,  Pope — continued 

his  Bull,   Cum  taw    divino,   430  ff.  ; 

and  s.  V.  Roverc,  G.  della.  Cardinal 
Justice,  retributive,  368 

"  Key,  the,"  Savonarola's  threat  to 
turn,  279,  369,  418 

Keys,  power  of  the,  vested  in  S.  Peter 
"  principaliter,"  305 

"  Kine  of  Samaria,  the  fat,"  201 

Kitchener,  Lord,  illustration  from  cam- 
paign of,  439 

Labour,  duty  of,  insisted  on  by  S.,  34 

Lambertini,  Prospero,  Cardinal  (after- 
wards Benedict  XIV.),  "  Promotor 
Fidei,"  etc.,  441 

Landucci,  Luca,  diary  of,  130  f.,  154, 
197  ff.,  213,  230  f..  236,  272,  326 
note,  327,  350,  353  ff-.  376 

Languages,  Semitic,  studied  at  S. 
Marco,    103 

Lapaccini,  Giuliano,  former  superior  of 
S.  Marco,  102 

"  Lawlessness  in  the  Church,"  danger 
of,  279 

Laxity  of  religious  orders,  etc.,  24,  105, 
191,  218,  221,  275 

Laymen,  volunteer  for  ordeal,  331 

"  Lazarus  come  forth  !  "  228  f. 

League,  of  Sixtus  IV.  with  Venice,  21  ; 
"  The  Holy  League  "  against  Charles 
VIII.,  etc.,  133,  176,  196,  203,  209, 
211  f.,  223,  226  f.  269  ;  elTorts  of,  to 
secure  the  adhesion  of  S. ,  20S  f. ,  223  ; 
S.  fears  the  agents  of,  416,  cf.  182  f. 

Leghorn,  temporary  cession  of,  to 
Charles  VIII.,  123;  the  King  sends 
help  to  Florentines  at,  223 

Lenzi,  Lorenzo  de',  speeches  of,  in 
debate,  262,  310,  336 

Leo  X.,  Pope,  s.  v.  Medici,  Giovanni 
de',  Cardinal 

Letters  to  Princes,  Savonarola's,  141  ff., 
325,  381  f.,  38s,  390  ff.,  419,  423; 
declared  unconstitutional,  3S1  f. ,  385, 
391.  And  s.  vv.  Charles  VIII., 
Ferdinand,  etc.,  Henry  VII.,  Maxi- 
milian (Emperor),  Hungary  (King  of), 
d'Esle  (E.),  Sforza(L.) 

Liberata,  Liperata,  s.  v.  Maria  Liberata, 
S. 

Liberty,  Florentine  notion  of,  148,  cf.  47 

"  Libreria  greca,"  the,  at  S.  Marco, 
S.  retires  to  during  the  riot,  361  ; 
said  to  have  invented  one  of  his 
visions  there,  418 

Lie,  a,  alleged  by  Landucci  to  be  the 
foundation  of  the  building  raised  by 
S.,  377 


Light,  supernatural,  prophetic,  etc.,  52, 
56,  59,  266,  273,  276,  278  f.  282 

Lilies,  s.  v.  Vision  of  Lilies 

Litanies,  a  favourite  devotion  with  S., 
chanted,  342,  359,  361 

Loches,  Lodovico  Sforza  imprisoned  at, 
207 

Lodovico,  Fra,  brings  secret  message 
to  S.,  415 

Lombardy,  S.  preaches  in,  14,  411 

Lopez,  Juan,  Cardinal,  Bishop  of 
Perugia  (styled  "Perugia"  in  con- 
temporary letters)  mentioned  in  de- 
spatches from  Florentine  ambassadors 
in  Rome  ;  at  first  favourable  to  S., 
afterwards  advises  submission,  etc., 
205,  234,  257  f ,  261,  298  f.,  304,  347 

Lorini,  Filippo,  S.  sends  a  message  by 
him  to  France,  415 

Lottini,  L.  G.  (O.P.),  his  opinion  that 
S.  was  not  excommunicated,  241  note 

Louis  XII.,  of  France,  holds  Lodovico 
Sforza  prisoner,  207 

Loyalty,  Catholic,  to  the  Holy  See, 
280  note 

Loyola,  S.  Ignatius,  s.  v.  Ignatius, 
S. 

Lucca,  Dominican  convent  at,  104, 
no;  Savonarola  invited  to,  etc., 
177  f.  ;  S.  at,  390 

Luigi  of  Aragon,  23  note. 

Luolto,  Paolo,  his  work  on  Savonarola 
(see  Bibliographical  List),  28,  35, 
134,  184 

Lupi,  C,  his  collection  of  Florentine 
debates,  I'jbnote,  308,  336,  and  notes 
passim 

Lynch  law,  ecclesiastical,  278 

Macchiavelli,  Niccol6,  records  the 
foundation  of  S.  Gallo,  13;  mentioned 

399 

Madonna  dell'  Impruneta,  a  highly 
venerated  statue  of  B.  V.  M.  brought 
in  procession  to  Florence,  213 

Maggi,  B.,  Fra  Sebastiano  (O.P.),  bears 
witness  to  Savonarola's  innocence  of 
life  in  the  noviciate,  etc.,  10 ;  the 
case  of  S.  submitted  to,  186  ;  Brief 
Quam  multa,  etc.,  addressed  to,  ibid ; 
objected  to  by  S.  as  "judex  merito 
suspectus,"  191  ;  an  apparent  mis- 
understanding on  this  point  cleared 
up,  193  ;  unworthy  motives  imputed 
to  by  S.  ibid. ;  the  appointment  sus- 
pended, 194  f.  ;  his  high  qualities 
attested  by  his  beatification,  10  note, 
193;  252 

Malaiosta  Sacramoro  da  Rimini,  Fra; 
s.  V.  Sacramoro,  Fra  M. 


458 


INDEX 


Malegonelle,  Antonio,  speeches  of,  in 
debate,  3".  335 

"  Mandrakes,"  scurrilous  nickname  for 
crosses,  2S9 

Manetti,  Giovanni,  one  of  the  Gon- 
falonier! delle  Arti,  arrests  della 
Vecchia  on  the  day  of  the  riot,  356  f. 
and  note 

Manfredi,  Manfredo,  Ferrarese  ambas- 
sador at  Florence,  requests  P.  de' 
Medici  to  allow  Fra  Mariano  to  preach 
at  P'errara,  90  ;  interviews  Mariano, 
but  to  no  purpose,  91  ;  consults  S.  on 
relations  between  d'Este  and  France, 
136;  reports  sermon  of  S.,  139  f.  ; 
popularity  of  S.,  154  ;  rivalry  of  S. 
and  da  Ponzo,  160,  162  notes; 
action  of  Pope  relative  to  Medicean 
conspiracy,  230  ;  election  of  Signory 
favourable  to  S.,  and  machinations 
of  the  enemies  of  Florence,  255  note  ; 
S.  assures  him  that  he  will  not  obey 
the  Pope,  26S  ;  Simone  del  Nero 
finds  him  in  communication  with  S., 
393;  letters  from,  197,  225,  266  f, 
269  f.,  296  f. 

Manifesto,  of  S.  against  the  excom- 
munication, 236;  against  S.,  alleged 
to  be  in  preparation  at  Rome,  404  ; 
of  biethren  of  S.  Marco  against  papal 
precept,  s.  v.  "  Apologeticum  Fratrum 
S.  M." 

Mannelli,  family  of,  alluded  to  as  favour- 
able to  S.,  404 

Mannelli,  Guido,  speeches  of,  in  debate, 
264,  380 

Mannelli,  Jacopo,  Canon  of  Florence, 
reports  Cardinal  da  Costa  favourable 
to  S.,  423  ;  has  in  his  possession  the 
notes  of  Ser  Ceccone  on  the  examina- 
tion of  S.,  408 

Mansi,  Giovanni  Domenico  (Arch- 
bishop of  Lucca  1764  ff. ),  on  the  con- 
demnation of  S.,  431  note,  437  note 

Marcantonio  da  Ficino,  letter  of  S.  to, 
266  f. 

Mnrco,  S.,  convent  of;  s.  v.  San  Marco 

Marescotti,  Agamemnon,  Podesta  of 
Brescia,  dealings  of  S.  with,  416 

Maria,  S.,  "del  Fiore,"  "  Liberata," 
"Liperata"  [sic],  or  "  Reparata," 
designation  of  the  Duomo,  or 
cathedral,  of  Florence,  74,  388,  and 
passim 

Mariano  della  Barba,  da  Gennazzano, 
Fra  ;  s.  v.  Barba,  Fra  M.  della 

Mark,  S.  "  will  descend  ''  on  Venice, 
etc.,  288 

Marseilles,  arrival  of  corn  sliips  from, 
213 


Martelli,  Braccio,  speech  of,  in  debate 
386 

Marlino  (or  Marti)  Bartolommeo, 
Cardinal,  Bishop  of  Segorbe,  helps 
to  appease  the  indignation  of  the 
Pope  against  S.,  205 

Maruffi,  Fra  Salvestro  (or  Silvestro, 
O.  P. ),  on  the  death  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  83  note  ;  organises  the  "  sub- 
scription in  favour  of  S.,  403  f.  ;  said 
to  have  received  a  revelation  that  Fra 
Domenico  should  enter  the  fire  with 
the  Sacred  Host,  344  note  ;  procures 
arms  for  defence  of  S.  Marco,  352  f.  ; 
his  arrest,  363,  370  ;  his  trial,  374  ff; 
his  process  "  vero  ma  non  in  tucto," 
3S5  ;  his  deposition  relates  his  habit 
of  talking  in  sleep,  his  dreams,  the 
assurance  of  S.  that  they  were  super- 
natural visions,  his  doubts  as  to  the 
prophecies  of  S.,  etc.,  388  f.  (c/.  387); 
a  vision  removes  his  doubts,  41 1  ; 
his  visions  alleged  to  have  been  held 
of  small  account  by  S.,  412  ;  enjoys 
the  confidence  of  S.,  414,  420,  423  ; 
yet  not  in  a  high  degree,  425  ;  names 
of  newly  elected  Signory  made  known 
to  him,  and  by  him  to  S.,  before 
publication,  418;  alleged  communi- 
cation by  him  of  knowledge  gained 
in  confession,  423  ff.,  cf.  435, 
and  s.v.  Confession  ;  his  execution, 
438  f. 

Mary,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  devotion  to, 
of  Sixtus  IV.,  17  ;  of  Savonarola,  35  ; 
alleged  visions  of,  54,  6i  ff.  And  s.v. 
Madonna 

Maximilian  I.,  Emperor,  enters  the 
"Holy  League,"  133;  sends  an 
embassy  to  Florence,  212;  takes 
part  in  the  war  against  Florence  z'dzd. 
and  note;  his  sudden  flight,  223; 
referred  to  by  S.  as  a  providential 
deliverance,  279;  letters  of  S.,  and 
of  Giovanni  Cambi  on  behalf  of  S., 
to,  324  f.,  419,  423 

Mazzinghi,  Domenico,  arrested,  370  and 
jiote ;  deposition  of,  concerning  his 
letter  to  Guasconi  on  the  project  of 
the  General  Council,  391  ;  text  of  the 
letter,  302  ;  named  by  S.  as  one  of 
the  chief  of  his  supporters,  414; 
occasionally  spoken  to  by  S.  about 
employment  of  condottieri,  416 ; 
employed  by  him  to  write  to 
Guasconi  {iit  supra),  419 

Mazzinghi,  Giuli:ino,  member  of  Com- 
mission to  try  S.,  371 

Mazzolini,  Sylvester  ("  Prieiias  "),  ou 
canonical  obedience,  243 


INDEX 


459 


Medicean  party ;  s.  vv.  "  Palleschi," 
"Big," 

Medici,  the  government  of,  151,  173  "•  J 
moral  influence  of,  173 

Medici,  Cosimo  de',  founds  the  convent 
of  S.  Marco,  79  f.  80  note  ;  procures 
the  establiehment  of  the  Council  of 
Seventy,  151  ;  his  dictum  that  "Slates 
cannot  be  governed  by  paternosters," 
170;  his  distinguished  services  to 
the  republic,  175 

Medici,  Fra  Francesco,  de',  provides 
arms  for  the  defence  of  S.  Marco,  352 

Medici,  Giovanni  de'.  Cardinal  (after- 
wards Pope  Leo  X.)i  Lorenzo's  advice 
to,  on  his  going  to  Rome,  23  ;  favours 
the  separation  of  S.  Marco  from  the 
Lombard  Congregation,  96  f.  ;  his 
flight  from  Florence,  1 60;  sentence 
of  outlawry  against  him,  131  ;  said 
to  have  spoken  highly  of  S.,  258 ; 
mentioned,  273  ;  S.  has  had  no 
dealings  with  except  once,  418 ; 
believes  that  he  and  Piero  prejudiced 
CarafTa  against  him,  423 

Medici,  Giuliano  de',  murder  of,  24 

Medici,  Lionardo  de',  Vicar-General  of 
Florence,  inhibits  S.  from  preaching, 
272  ;  forbids  the  faithful  to  attend, 
297  f.;  is  punished  by  the  Signory,//'/;/. 

Medici,  Lorenzo  de',  founds  the  convent 
of  S.  Gallo,  and  favours  Fra  Mariano 
da  Gennazzano,  1 3  ;  alleged  to  have 
been  psrsuaded  by  Pico  del  la  Miran- 
dola  to  summon  S.  to  Florence,  14  ; 
his  advice  to  his  son  the  Cardin:il 
Giovanno  de'  M.,  23  ;  remonstrates 
with  S.,  by  means  of  messengers,  on 
his  prophetical  utterances,  50,  75  ; 
his  death  predicted  by  S.,  76  ;  induces 
Fra  Mariano  to  preach  against  S., 
77  ;  S.  declines  to  visit,  80  ;  himself 
visits  S.  Marco  and  bestows  alms, 
80  f.  ;  his  last  illness  and  death, 
contradictory  accounts  of,  81  ff.  ;  his 
political  system  and  services  to  the 
republic,  151,  175 

Medici,  Lorenzo  "  di  Pierfranccsco" 
de',  recalled  from  exile,  132  tiole ;  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  315  f.  ;  S.  alleged  to  be 
hostile  to  him,  323 
Medici,  Maddalena  de',  23  vote 

Medici,  Piero  de',  succeeds  Lorenzo,  his 
character,  85  ;  alleged  to  have  pro- 
cured the  mission  of  S.  to  Bologna,  a 
groundless  conjecture,  90  and  note ; 
is  willing  that  Fra  Mariano  shoiiM 
go  to  Ferrara,  90  f ;  no  evidence  uf 
his  hostility  to  S.  at  this  time  (1493), 


91  ;  favours  the  separation  of  S. 
Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congrega- 
tion, 96  ;  made  arbitrator  between  S. 
Marco  and  the  Lombard  Fathers, 
98  ff ;  obsequious  letter  of  S.  to, 
too ;  S.  predicts  that  he  will  behave- 
foolishly  on  occasion  of  the  French 
invasion,  114  f:ote ;  his  vacillating 
conduct,  115,  122  f.  ;  his  embassy 
to  Charles  VII L  and  .surrender  of 
certain  fortresses,  123  f.;  declared 
incapable  of  government,  126 ;  his 
return  to  Florence,  his  flight,  a 
sentence  of  outlawry  passed  against 
him,  130  f.  ;  various  opinions  on  the 
motives  of  his  expulsion,  the  prospect 
of  his  restoration,  etc.,  172  tf.,  366; 
he  accompanies  Charles  VIII.  from 
Rome  to  Sien,  137,  cf.  147;  pro- 
vision to  be  made  against  his  return, 
147  ;  Accoppiatori  appointed  for  this 
purpose,  151  ;  threatens  an  attemjH 
to  return,  October  1495,  167,  195; 
S.  preaches  against,  and  a  fresh 
decree  of  oullawr)'  follows,  167 ;  S. 
dreads  his  agents  in  Rome,  i8af., 
416  ;  S.  declared  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  all  his  misfortunes,  205;  his 
hopes  revived  by  the  election  of  B. 
del  Nero  as  Gonfaloniere,  224  f.  ; 
these  hopes  are  declared  by  the  Ten 
to  be  vain,  227  ;  he  appears  at  the 
gates  of  Florence,  but  retreats  igno- 
miniously,  229  ff.  ;  the  deliverance 
spoken  of  by  S.  as  providential,  279 ; 
is  alleged  to  have  no  cause  of 
complaint  against  S.,  258;  S. 
declares  that  he  never  had  any 
political  dealings  with,  that  P.  sought 
to  implicate  him  in  his  affairs,  that  if 
P.  had  returned  he  (S.)  would  have 
explained  the  reason  of  his  invectives 
against  him,  417  f. 
.Medici,  Vieri  de',  speech  of,  in  debate, 

314 

Mei,  Bartolomnieo,  one  of  the  defenders 
of  S.  Marco,  his  deposition,  361  notes 

Melancholy,  S.  prone  to,  7  f.  ;  which 
may  have  predisposed  him  to  delusion, 
55 ;  but  he  himself  repudiates  the 
suggestion,  tdid. 

.Mercy,  works  of,  inculcated  by  S.,  34  ; 
and  practised  by  him,  255  ;  and  s.  v. 
alms 

.Michelangiolo  da  Orvieto,  a  dependant 
of  Cardinal  Carnffa,  S.  talks  with  on 
the  prospects  of  a  Council,  42S 

.Militia,  spiritual,  of  children,  45 

IMinoriies,  the,  342;  and  s.  v.  Fran- 
ciscans 


460 


INDEX 


Minuta,  Madonna  la,  a  letter  to  be 
sent  through  her  to  the  King  of 
Hungary,  419 

Miracle,  a,  not  necessary  for  the  attesta- 
tion of  prophecy,  58 ;  promised, 
demanded,  or  appealed  to,  by  S., 
66,  239,  2yS{.,  293;  and  s.  v. 
ordeal 

Mirandola,  Pico  della ;  s.  v.  Pico  della 
Mirandola 

"  Misericordia,"  cries  of,  at  end  of 
sermon,  295 ;  the  accused  to  be 
punished  "  con  misericordia,"   381  f. 

Misrepresentation,  alleged,  of  Savona- 
rola's acts,  etc.,  274;  and  s.  v. 
Calumny,  False  information,  etc. 

Mission,  alleged  divine,  of  S.,  188, 
196,  209,  220,  253,  281,  299,  413 

"  Monkish  munitions  of  war,"  352  no/e 

Montedoglio,  Checco  (stc),  Count  of, 
dealings  of  S.  with,  416 

Montepulciano,  Dominican  convent  at, 
214 

Montesecco, ,  his  confession  con- 
cerning the  conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi, 
20  no^e 

"  Moor,  the,"  the  common  designation 
of  Lodovico  Sforza,  182  ;  and  s.  v. 
Sforza,  L. 

Moors,  the  conversion  of,  predicted  ; 
s.  v.  Turks 

"Moral  victory"  achieved  by  S., 
438  f.  ;  and  s.  v.  Victory 

Morality,  principles  of  political,  170 

Moses,  Savonarola  likened  to,  289 

Motives,  how  far  to  be  considered  in 
criminal  process,  367 

Naples,  King  of,  s.  vv.  Alfonso  II., 
Ferrante  I.  and  II.  ;  league  of  with 
Pope,  Emperor,  Venice,  Milan,  etc., 
s.  V.  League 

"Napoli,"  the  usual  designation,  in 
despatches,  of  Cardinal  Carafifa, 
Archbishop  of  N.,  s.  v.  Caraffa 

Nardi,  Jacopo,  his  "History  of 
Florence,"  21  note,  272,  326  note, 
327,  344,  351,  and  notes  passitn 

Nasi,  Bernardo,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
314 

"Nephews  or  sons?"  bastard  offspring 
of  the  clergy,  285 

Nepotism  of  the  Popes,  and  especially 
of  Sixtus  IV.  and  Innocent  VIII., 
18,23 

Neri,  S.  Philip,  his  gentle  spirit,  39 ; 
his  abstention  {mm  politics,  145  ; 
encouraged  by  the  example  of  S., 
439;  his  veneration  for  S.,  441 

Nerli,  Jacopo  "  di  Tanai  "  de',  speaks 


unbidden  in  the  Consiglio  de 
Richiesti,  and  is  checked  by  his 
father,  126;  a  prominent  member  of 
the  aristocratic  party,  175  ;  thanked 
by  the  Pope  for  his  exertions  against 
S.,  261  ;  declines  to  sign  the  "sub- 
scription," 402 ;  loses  an  eye  in  the 
^  riot,  358 

Nerli,  Tanai,  reproves  his  son  for 
speaking  unbidden  in  debate,  126 

Nero,  Bernardo  del,  an  object  of  hatred 
to  the  aristocratic  party,  147  note  ; 
one  of  the  speakers  in  Guicciardini's 
dialogue  "Del  Reggimento  di  F.," 

167  note;  views  attributed  to  him 
therein,  173  f.  ;  elected  Gonfaloniere, 
224  f. ;  the  election  gives  fresh  hopes 
to  the  Palleschi,  225 ;  and  induces 
Piero  de'  M.  to  make  an  attempt  to 
re-enter  the  city,  229  f.  ;  a  plot  to 
assassinate  him  during  his  term  of 
office,  417  ;  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety,  233 ;  im- 
plicated by  silence  in  Piero's  plot, 
168,   254;    is    tried    and    executed, 

168  f.  ;  S.  declares  that  he  was 
content  that  B.  d.  N.  should  be 
punished,  426  ;  is  blamed  by  some, 
defended  by  others,  for  not  having 
intervened  to  save  him,  168  f. ;  Sforza 
and  d'Este  write  to  the  Signory  in 
his  behalf,  267  ;  his  case  in  some 
respects  parallel  to  that  of  S.,  366, 
369,  433,  437 

Nero,  Niccolo  del.  agent  for  his  brother 
Simone  in  Spain,  393,  419 

Nero,  Simone  del,  is  induced  to  write 
to  his  brother  Niccolo  on  the  project 
of  the  Council,  393,  419;  his  de- 
position, 393 

Neutrality,  as  between  himself  and  his 
enemies,  including  the  Pope,  declared 
by  S.  to  be  inexcusable,  276 

Newman,  Cardinal,  on  reaction  after 
reform  effected  by  S.,  36 

Niccolini,  Agnolo,  an  object  of  hatred 
to  the  aristocratic  party  at  Florence, 
147  ftote  ;  declines  to  sign  the  "  sub- 
scription," 403  ;  speech  of  in  debate, 
335  ;  said  to  have  suggested  that  S. 
should  be  imprisoned,  not  executed, 
367,,432 

Niccolo  da  Milano,  Fra  (O.P. ),  acts  as 
private  secretary  to  S.,  378,  390; 
enjoys  his  confidence,  389  note,  420, 
423  ;  employed  to  convey  the  draft 
letters  to  be  sent  to  ambassadors,  etc. , 
419  ;  writes  to  the  Signory  offering 
to  give  evidence  against  S.,  378  f.  ; 
banished  for  ten  years,  379 


INDEX 


461 


"  Nicholas,  Master,"  a  theologian  who 

speaks  in  favour  of  S.,  204 
Nicholas,    "  the   shoemaker,"   arrested 

soon  after  S.,    370;    gives  evidence 

as  to  the  provision  of  arms  for  the 

defence  of  S.  Marco,  352  note  ;  and 

as   to   the   actual  defence,   353   and 

note 
"  Nightbird,       a,"       ("  questo      tale 

nocturno"),  visits  S.  and  endeavours 

to  draw  him  out  on  political  matters, 

418 
Nicknames,       political,       s.       vv. 

"  Arrahbiati,"    "  Bigi,"     "  Compag- 

nacci,"    "  Frateschi,"     "  Palleschi," 

"  Piagnoni" 
Nineteen    prisoners,    arrest    of,    370 ; 

depositions  of,  385  ff. ,  and  chap.  xx. 

notes  passim 
Noah,  the   time   of  the  Deluge  made 

known  to,  57 
Nullity,  alleged,  of  Excommunication, 

the ;  s.  V.  Excommunication 
Nuns,  advice  to,  154 

Obedience,  the  practice  of  by  S.,  48  ; 
the  duty  of,  how  limited,  etc.,  201, 
203,  208,  219,   221,  237,   241,  249, 

275 

Observance  of  censure  alleged  to  be 
unjust,  duty  of,  242,  246,  249 

Observance,  the  stricter,  in  the 
Dominican  Order,  191,  221 

Observantines,  Dominican,  214,  219 ; 
and  s.  V.  Congregation 

Obstinacy  of  S.,  196,  416;  and  s.  v. 
Disobedience 

Oliphant,  Mrs,  her  work,  "The  Makers 
of  Florence,"  on  continuity  in  Floren- 
tine politics,  150  note  ;  on  the  abuses 
of  the  Parlamento,  166  note;  ex- 
onerates S.  from  blame  in  connection 
with  the  execution  of  P,  del  Nero, 
169 

Olivi,  Piero,  a  mediteval  prophet,  69 
note;  describes  "  the  carnal  Church  " 
as  "  I'empia  Babilonia,"  9 

O'Neil,  J.  L.  fO.P.),  on  relations 
between  S.  and  Lorenzo  de'  Medici, 
80  note,     (See  also  Preface,  p.  ix.). 

"  O ratio  pro  Ecclesia,"  Savonarola's, 
21  f. 

Ordeal,  the,  326  ff.  (chap.  xix.  per 
totiiin  (for  details  see  Table  of 
Contents) ;  Fra  Domenico  on,  in 
his  deposition,  404  f.  ;  S.  on  in  his 
deposition,  420  f.  ;  the  Papal  Com- 
missaries on  the  proposal  to  enter 
the  fire  with  the  Sacred  Host,  436 

Organisation    of    moral    reform,     the 


necessity  of,  recognised  by  S. ,  40; 

carried  out,  40  iL 
Orsini,  family  feuds  of,  in  Rome,  23 
Orsini,    Carlo,    a    condottiere    in    the 

service  of  Charles  VIII.,  calls  at  S. 

Marco  on  his  return   from    France, 

Orsini,  Virgilio,  takes  military  service 
in  support  of  Piero  de'  Medici,  and 
threatens  Florence,  195 

Orthodoxy,  doctrinal,  of  Savonarola, 
maintained  by  himself,  187,  200,  216, 
280  f.  ;  not  seriously  questioned, 
429  ;  vindicated  by  commission  ap- 
pointed to  examine  by  Paul  IV.,  429 
note  ;  and  by  Father  Proctor  (O.P.), 
ibid. 

Orvieto,  the  Bishop  of,  Giorgio  della 
Rovere,  complains  that  Florence  is 
ruled  by  S.,  134 

Orvieto,  Michelangiolo  da;  s.  v. 
Michelangiolo  da  O. 

"  Ottanta,"  the  ;  s.  v,  "  Consiglio  degli 
Ottanta  " 

"  Ottimati,"  the,  aristocratic  party  in 
Florence,  147,  157,  160,  175;  and 
s.  V.  "  Arrabbiati " 

"Otto,"  the;  s.  v.  "Eight,  the" 

Pagagnotti  (or  Paganotti),  Benedetto 
(O.P.),  Bishop  of  Vaison  and  auxiliary 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Florence,  is 
ordered  by  the  Pope  to  send  Savona- 
rola, Fra  Domenico  Buonvicino,  and 
Fra  Salvestro  Maruffi  to  Rome,  372 
note  ;  is  commissioned  to  degrade  S. 
and  his  companions,  438 

Paganism,  revival  of  in  Renai'^sance 
period,  24 ;  alleged,  of  Popes, 
16 

Paganotti,  B.,  s.  v.  Pagagnotti 

Pageants  and  pageantry,  in  Italy  and 
particularly  at  Ferrara,  3 ;  had,  in 
opinion  of  S.,  invaded  the  sanctuary, 
32 ;  must  be  supplanted  by  reIi.<;:ious 
lunctions,  40;  cf.  284  ("spiritual 
pomps") 

Pagnini,  Santi,  Hebrew  scholar,  trained 
at  S.  Marco,  103 

Palazzo  della  Signoria,  S.  preaches  in, 

75-  153 
"Palle,"  the  device  of  the  Medici,  161 
"  Palle !    Palle!"    the   rallying   cry  of 

the  Medici,  130,  225 
"Palleschi,"  the  Medicean  party  at 
Florence,  161,  175  f.,  212,  230;  are 
in  a  hopeless  minority,  175;  but 
eftect  a  coalition  with  the  "Frateschi," 
161  7iote,  254;  though  really  hostile 
to  S.,  176,  230;  are  accused  by  hiin 


463 


INDEX 


"  Palleschi " — continued 

of  ingratitude,  212;    engage  in  plot 

for    lestoratioii    of   Pieru,    168   (s.   v. 

Nero,  B.  del) 
Palm  Sunday  1498,  events  on,  349  ff. 
Paludanus     (Petrus    de     Palude),     on 

canonical  obedience,  etc.,  239,  250 
Panciatichi,  Ridolfo,  slain  in  the  riot, 

an  edifying  death,  361 
Pandolfini,  Giovanni,  Bishop  of  Pistoia, 

letter  of,  to  the  Ten,  recording  that 

he  has  defended  S.  before  the  Pope, 

203 
Pandolfini,     Giacomo,    speech     of,    in 

debate,  314 
Pandolfini,    Pierfilippo,    an    object    of 

hatred  to  the  aristocratic  party,  147 

note ;  mentioned  in  deposition  of  S., 

415 

Panormitanus,  Abbas  (Nicolaus  de 
Tudeschis) ;  s.  v.  Tudeschis,  N.  de 

Parable,  use  of,  by  Savonarola,  54 

Parenti,  Piero,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
381  ;  his  chronicle  quoted,  etc.,  on 
the  law  of  the  appeal  from  the  "  Sei 
fave,"  159  ff.  ;  on  the  political  attitude 
of  the  "Palleschi"  or  "  Biji,"  161 
note  ;  on  the  mission  of  Camerino  to 
present  the  Brief  of  excommunication, 
233  ;  on  the  riot,  350  and  note,  353 
note,  356  f.  notes 

Parlamento,  the,  at  Florence,  the 
ultimate  resource  in  times  of  political 
crisis,  150;  the  Council  of  Seventy 
abolished  by,  1 51  ;  often  a  means  of 
curtailing  popular  liberties  under 
colour  of  exercising  them,  165  f.  ;  S. 
bitterly  inveighs  against,  166  ;  it  is 
abolished,  165,  167  ;  referred  to  in 
deposition  of  S.,  413 

Parties,  poHtical,  at  Florence,  147,  161, 
179,  254;  and  s.  vv.  "  Arrabbiati," 
"Biji,"  "Frateschi,"  "  Ottimati," 
"  Palleschi,"  "  Piagnoni" 

Paschal  Communion,  directions  for 
making  with  fervour,  35 

Paschal  precept,  the  anxiety  of  Signory 
to  fulfil,  373 

"  Pasqua,"  a,  at  Carnival,  282 

Passion  of  Christ,  Savonarola's  devotion 

to,  35 
Pastor,    Dr   Ludwig,  his  "  History   of 
the   Popes,"    16 ;    opinions    quoted, 
etc.,   17  f.  notes,  20  f.  notes,  24   and 
note,    36,    38,  41,  43,  46   note,    122, 
407,  44 > 
Patience,  the  duty  of,  inculcated  byS.,  34 
Paul,  S.,  spoken  to  by  God,  56  ;  with- 
stands    S.    Peter,    219,    282  ;    will 
descend  on  Rome,  288 


Paul  the  wax-chandler  arrested,  370  ; 
gives  evidence   concerning  the  riot, 

353 

Pavia,  Savonarola  preaches  at,  14 
Pazzi,  conspiracy  of  the,  20,  278 
Pazzi,  Cosimo  de',  Bishop  of  Arezzo,  299 
Peace,   Savonarola's   counsels    of,    147, 

196,  225,  269  ;  and  s.  v.  Amnesty 
Pecori,  de',  murdered  in  the  riot, 

352 
Pellegrino,  Fra  (O.P.),  a  lay  brother  at 
S.  Marco  with  whom  P.  Cinozzi  was 
familiar,  394 
Penance,  Savonarola's  counsel  of,  208 
Pepi,  Francesco,  Florentine  ambassador 
at  Milan,  defends  S.  at  that  Court, 
260,  321  ;  letters  to,  304,  322 
Perrens,  F.  T.,  his  "  Life  of  Savona- 
rola "  in  some  measure  followed  by 
Pastor,  38 ;  quoted  on  the  death  of 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  84  note 
Persecution,  a  test  of  prophetic  truth, 
256,  290,  293  ;  expected  by  S.,  207, 
274,  286  ;  and  s.  v.  Truth 
Perugia,    Bishop    of ;    s.    v.     Lopez  ; 

Dominican  convent  at,  no,  214  f. 
Pescia,  Fra  Domenico  Buonvicino  da  ; 

s.  V.  Buonvicino 
Pessimism,  tendency  of  S.  to,  7 
Pestilence,  S.  has  prayed  for  a,  as  the 
least  of  evils  that  can  be  expected, 
288  ;  and  s.  v.  Plague 
Peter,  S.,  why  did   God  choose   him? 
57 ;  withstood  by  S.  Paul,  219,  282  ; 
will   descend    on    Rome,    288 ;    the 
power   of    the   keys    given   to   him, 
"  principaliter,"  305 
Petarch,  calls  Avignon  "  Babylon,"  9 
Pharaoh,  the  Pope  likened  to,  282,  289, 

292 
Pharisees,  contemporary,  32 
Phassur,  the  Pope  likened  to,  293 
Philosophy,  principles  of,  how  known, 

"  Piagnonacci "  ;  s.  v.  "Piagnoni 

"Piagnoni,"  i.e.  "the  Mourners"  (,cf, 
Ezech.  ix.  i  ff.),  a  nickname  of  the 
followers  of  S.,  36,  350  and  note; 
Cosci  and  Lupi  on  this  and  similar 
party  names,  176  note 

Pico  della  Mirandola,  Galeazzo,  S. 
writes  to,  and  warns  of  his  impending 
death,  which  happens  within  two 
years,  208  and  note 

Pico  della  Mirandola,  Giovanni  (the 
elder),  said  to  have  met  S.  at  the 
general  chapter  of  the  Dominican 
Order  at  Reggio,  14 ;  his  death  on 
the  day  on  which  Charles  VIIL 
entered  Florence,  140  note 


INDEX 


463 


Pico  dclla  Mirantlola,  r'liovaiini  Fran- 
cesco (ihc  younger),  his  account  of 
the  views  of  S.,  15;  and  of  the  death 
of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  82  note,  83  ; 
his  "  Apology  "for  S.,  205  ;  dedicated 
to  d'Este,  who  expresses  his  indigna- 
tion thereat,  321  f. 

Pietrasanta,  cession  of,  to  Charles  VIII., 

123 

Pietropaolo  da  Urbino,  Fra  (O.P. ), 
countersigns  the  deposition  of  S.,  365 

Piety,  personal,  of  Savonarola,  34,  437  ; 
of  Sixtus  IV.,  17  and  note ;  of  Ercole 
d'Este,  134  note 

Pilate's  house,  the  priests  who  would 
not  enter  compared  with  the  Floren- 
tine Signory,  373 

Pilli,  Fra  Niccolo  (O.F.M.),  offers 
himself  for  the  ordeal 

"  Pinzocheroni,"  opprobrious  nickname 
of  the  followers  of  S.,  2S9 

Pisa,  Savonarola  at,  390 ;  Dominican 
convent  at,  negotiations  to  unite  with 
S.  Marco,  104  ff.  ;  the  union  effected, 
108 ;  and  dissolved,  109 ;  city  of, 
ceded  to  Charles  VIII.,  123;  revolt 
of,  from  Florence,  73,  109,  140  f., 
279;  its  restoration  demanded  by  S., 
141,  144,  cf.  415;  and  predicted  by 
him,  70  note,  141,  412,  cf.  418;  the 
prediction  firmly  believed  by  Fra 
Domenico,  386 ;  war  with,  163, 
211  f.  ;  negotiations  concerning,  with 
the  Pope,  226  f.,  270,  298,  301,  307  ; 
hatred  of  natives  for  Florentines,  218  f. 

Pistoia,  Bishop  of,  s.  v.  Pandolfini ; 
Savonarola  at,  205  f.,  390 

Pitti,  Jacopo,  takes  part  in  the  murder 
of  Valori,  357 

Pitti,  Jacopo,  the  historian,  on  mistaken 
notion  of  liberty,  152  note;  on  the 
condemnation  of  B.  del  Nero,  etc., 
168  f.  note  ;  on  Valori's  action  in  the 
riot,  356  note 

Pittorio,  Lodovico,  chancellor  or 
secretary  to  Ercole  d'Este,  letters  of 
S.  to,  39,  256,  265 

Plague  at  Florence,  the,  215,  254  ff., 
403  ;  and  s.  v.  Pestilence 

Plots,  various,  s.  vv.  Corbizi ;  Forged 
Letter  ;  Nero,  B.  del  ;   Pazzi 

Podocatharus,  Ludovicus,  Bishop  of 
Capaccio,  secretary  to  Alexander  VI., 
259  note ;  Florentine  ambassador 
intercedes  with,  in  favour  of  S. ,  205, 
257  ;  he  counsels  submission,  319 

Poggibonsi,  S.  meets  Charles  VIII,  at, 

138,  141 
Police  of  children,  organised  by  S.,  45  ff., 
199 


Policy,  foreign,  of  Florence,  import- 
ance of  vigour  anil  continuity  in, 
173  ;  and  s.  v.  France,  alliance  with 

I'oliiiaii  (Puliziano)  Angelo,  on  the 
preaching  of  Fra  Mariano,  12  ;  on 
the  death  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  83  f. 

Political  morality,  principles  of,  170 

Politics,    Savonarola   and,    75,    Il3ff., 

145.  413 
Politics,  authority  of  the  Pope  in,  196  ; 

S.  and,  57,  75,  113  ff,   145.  393  ff-. 

413  ff. 

*'  Polizze,"  i.e.  confidential  documents; 
one  containing  a  "secret  of  God" 
sent  by  S.  to  d'Este,  136,  225,  cf. 
379  f.  ;  on  political  affairs,  400 ;  da 
Ponzo,  Fra  Uomenico,  s.  v.  Domenico 
da  P. 

Poor,  the  oppression  of,  5,  7,  34 ; 
counsels  for,  34 

Pope  (Alexander  VI.),  Savonarola's 
invectives  against,  s.  v.  "Rome"; 
project  for  deposition  of,  s.  vv. 
Alexander  VI.;  Rovere,  G.  della ; 
Council 

"  Pope  in  heaven,"  the,  to  be  appealed 
to,  288 

Popes,  the,  of  latter  part  of  fifteenth 
century,  Dr  W.  Barry  on,  15;  and 
s.  v.  Sixtus  IV.,  Innocent  VIII., 
Alexander  VI.;  can  err,  280 

Popoleschi,  Piero,  Gonfaloniere  di 
Giustizia,  hostile  to  S.,  317 

"  Popolo  e  Liberta  ! "  rallying  cry  in 
Florence,  130 

"Popolo!  Popolo!"  rallying  cry  in 
Florence,  357 

Popular  government  at  Florence,  148  ff. 

Popular  party  at  Florence,  s,  v. 
"  P^ateschi" 

Popularity  of  Savonarola,  203  f.; 
waning,  211  ;  revived,  255,  303. 

"  Postille,"  or  glosses,  interpolated  by 
Ceccone  in  Savonarola's  deposition, 
421 

Power,  "infernal,"  exercised  by  the 
Pope,  288 

"  Pratiche,"  s.  v.,  debates 

Prato,  moral  and  political  reform  of 
the  city,  206  ff. ;  iJonainican  convent 
at,  104,  206,  214;  negotiations  for 
union  of,  with  S.  Marco,  iiof. ;  ex- 
pulsion of  "conventuals"  from,  and 
negotiations  with  them,  211  f ;  trans- 
ferred to  new  Congregation,  216; 
Savor.arola  at,  205  f.,  390;  Fra 
Domenico  at,  346  f.;  first  challenge 
to  ordeal  given  at,  /fiui. 

Prayer,     Savonarola's     gift    of,     44O, 

<:J-  359  f. 


464 


INDEX 


rreaching;,  diameter  of  Savonarola's, 
27  ff.;  S.  prohibited  from,  in  October 
1405,  194  ;  after  Ascension  Day  I497) 
230  f.,  254;  with  disastrous  results, 
according  to  S.,  274;  in  Lent  149S 
(in  the  Duomo),  287  (at  S.  Marco), 
316 

Predictions,  Savonarola's,  s.  v.  Pro- 
phecy 

Presentiment,  Savonarola's,  of  excom- 
munication, of  impending  disaster, 
349  ;  of  persecution  and  death 

Prevarication,  Savonarola's  alleged, 
410 

♦'  Price  of  Blood,"  the,  348 

Pride,  danger  of,  a  source  of  delusion, 
etc.,  47.  66,  73,  193.  276,  440 

Prierias  ;  s.  v.,  Mazzolini 

Priests;  s.  v.  Clergy 

Priesthood,  vocation  to,  S.  in,  280 

Prince,  the,  good  government  depends 
on,  76 

Princes,  vices  of,  15,  23;  alleged 
familiarity  of  S.  with,  57,  4I5ff-. 
423  ;    letters   to,    141  ff.,  207  f,  235, 

419.  423  ^      ,         J         r 

Prior  of  S.  Marco,  S.  elected,  79  f. 

"  Priori  degli  Arti,"  a  Florentine  magis- 
tracy, 149 

Private  judgment,  practically  the  ulti- 
mate court  of  appeal  for  S.,  440 

Probability,  sufficient  for  prudent  action, 
170,  217 

Process  or  processes  of  Savonarola,  ac- 
count of  by  Vivoli  and  Fra  Benedetto, 
407  ff.;  garbled  by  Ser  Ceccone,  365, 
369,  407  ff. ;  the  first  misstatements 
of,  371  ;  published  and  withdrawn, 
374  f.;  a  portion  of  read  before  the 
Council,  376  f.;  extracts  from,  sent 
to  the  Pope,  380;  its  contents, 
411  ff.;  the  second,  unimportant, 
376,  421  ;  a  portion  of  read  before 
the  Council,  3S0 ;  the  third,  before 
Romolino  and  Timano,  383  f. ;  its 
contents,  422  ff. 
Processions,  40,  42  f.,  202,   273,   284, 

301  >  394 
Procuratori  del  Palazzo,  150 

Profane  language,  rife  in  the  city,  S. 
urges  its  suppression,  213  ;  and  s.  v. 
Blasphemy 

"  Profligate  Church,"  the,  Savonarola  s 
address  to,  278 

Promotions,  unworthy,  to  ecclesiastical 
offices,  etc.,  17 

"Promotor  Fidei,"  Lambertini  (after- 
wards Benedict  XIV.)  fulfils  the 
office  of,  441 

Prophecy,  the  place  of,  under  the  New 


Testament,  56,  58,  64 ;  mediaeval, 
69  and  note,  cf.  58  ;  conditional,  70, 
129,  340,  or  absolute,  62  f.,  70,  340  ; 
tests  of,  654,  190  (and  s.  v.  Perse- 
cution); limitations  of,  60;  fulfilment 
of,  60,  75  f.,  113  ff.,  182,  188,  190, 
292  ;  by  unwilling  agents,  237  ; 
through  persecution,  276 ;  through 
excommunication,  280  ;  delay  in 
fulfilment  of,  54,  256,  278,  292 ; 
cannot  be  forbidden,  according  to  S., 
187,  292;  but  is  subject  to  authority, 
189  ;  alleged  neglect  of  other  matters 
for,  194  f .  ;  fame  of,  to  spread 
through  the  world,  237,  cf.  73  note; 
presumption  against  genuineness  of, 
64,  and  s.  V.  Revelation 
"Prophet,    a,    perforce,"    S.    declares 

himself  to  be,  276 
Prophetic  claim  and  alleged  mission  of 
S.,    49  ff.,     188  f.,    207,    220,    290, 
32b  f.,    412    note,    429,    and    s.    v. 
Mission ;    proclaimed    by    children, 
47  ;    demands    examination,    49  ff.  ; 
examined,  65  ;  prophetic  ideals,  69  ; 
prophetic  spirit,  60 
Prophets,    God's    servants,    53,     144 ; 
other  reputed,  contemporary  with  S., 
129  f.,  292,  417,  427 
Propositions,  Savonarola's,  s.  v.  "Con- 
clusions" 
Provinces,  the,  of  the  Dominican  Order, 

92  note,  no,  214,  and  note 
Psalm,  the,  Quam  bonus  Israel,  sermons 
on,  118  note;  In  exitu,  sermon  on, 
282 ;    Miserere  and  In  te   Do  mine, 
meditations  on,  437 
Pucci,  Alessandro,  helps  to  defend  S. 
Marco,  his  deposition,  353  note,  354 
note 
Pucci,   Giannozzo,   accompanies    Piero 
de'  Medici,  123  note  ;  condemned  for 
Medicean  plot,  168  f.,  403 
Pucci,    Puccio,    Florentine  ambassador 

in  Rome,  letter  of  Signory  to,  107 
Puglia,  Fra  Francesco  di  ;  s.  v.  Fran- 
cesco di  Puglia 
Pugliese,  Francesco  del,  s.  v.  Francesco 

del  Pugliese 
Pulinari,      Dionysio      (O.F.M.),      his 
chronicle  (see  Bibliographical  List), 
on  the  ordeal,  326  note,  332,  340  fT. 
Punishments,  severe,  advocated  by  S., 
46,  166,  213,  222,  366 

QUERCIA,  La,  Dominican  convent  at, 
incorporated  witli  the  new  Congrega- 
tion, 214  ;  a  colony  to  be  sent  to, 
from  S.  Marco,  216 

Quinquagesima  1898,  sermon  on,  28a 


INDEX 


465 


RAFl'AELii  DA  FiRENZUOi.A,  reputed 
prophet,  executed  at  Bologna,  129 
noU 

Ran^oni,  family,  of  Modena,  S.  uses 
his  interest  in  favour  of,  416 

Kain,  continual,  at  Florence,  211;  on 
occasion  of  the  ordeal,  344 

Rnnke,  Leopold  von,  on  motives  and 
intentions  of  Charles  VIII.,  122 

Rapallo,  sack  of,  by  Charles  VIII., 
causes  a  panic  in  Italy,  120 

Reaction  from  the  reform  effected  by 
S.,  37,  43;  (/•  275>  281,351 

"  Red  hat,"  the,  of  martyrdom,  desired 
by  S.,  210 

Reform  of  the  Church,  hoped  for  and 
predicted  by  S.,  56,  70,  287,  330; 
momentarily  taken  in  hand  by 
Alexander  VI.,  256,  and  s.  v.  Com- 
mission of  Reform  ;  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  preluded  by  the  efforts  and 
words  of  S.  439  ;  of  Florence,  36  fl"., 
58,  70,  160  f.  ;  of  children,  43  ff., 
198  f.  ;  at  Prato,  206  ;  of  Benedictine 
monasteries,  248  ;  of  Dominican  con- 
vents, s.  vv.  Observance,  Congrega- 
tion, etc. 

Reformation,  the  Protestant,  228 

I^cggio,  Chapter  of  Dominican  Order 
at,  14 

Reiffenstuel,  Joannes,  on  observance 
of  censures,  etc.,  246  note 

Relics,  no  protection  to  the  wicked, 
209 

Renaissance,  the,  5 

Rene  of  Anjou,  his  claim  to  the  king- 
dom of  Naples,  121 

Renovation,  of  Church,  s.  v.  Reform 

Reparata,  S.  Maria,  s.  v.  Maria 
Reparata,  S. 

Reprisals,  danger  of,  on  the  part  of 
the  French  troops,  177 

Reserve  maintained  by  S.  in  the  pre- 
diction of  future  events,  52 
"  Reserved  cases,"  302 

Revelations,  alleged,  of  S.  49  ff. ,  196, 
253,  3S6  ff. ,  41 1  f. ,  424,  427  ;  manner 
of,  52 

Revalidation,  provisional,  of  invalid 
election  to  the  Papacy,  hypothesis  of, 

431 

Review,  a  spiritual,  273 

Revolt,  the  "turning  of  the  key"  a 
declaration  of,  369 

Revolution  without  bloodshed,  a,  212 

Riario,  Girolamo,  Count,  nephew  of 
Sixtus  IV.,  19  note ;  his  ambition, 
19  ;  his  complicity  in  the  conspiracy 
of  the  Pazzi,  20;  his  responsibility 
for  the  war  with  Ferrara,  21 


Riario,  Pietro,  Cardinal,  19  f.  ;  nephew 
of  .Sixtus  IV.,  i^note  ;  his  immorality 
and  ostentatious  extravagance,  19  f. 
Ricci,  S.   Catarina  de',   her  veneration 
for  Savonarola,  438,  441 

Rider  of  the  war  horse,  Christ  repre- 
sented as  the,  285 

Ridolfi,  Bernardo,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
264 

Ridolfi,  Giovanni  Battista,  approves  the 
scheme  of  the  "subscription,"  404; 
alienated  from  Valori  Ijy  condemna- 
tion of  his  brother  Niccolu,  169  ;  one 
of  the  committee  to  supervise  the 
ordeal,  346 ;  discusses  the  matter 
with  S.  on  the  previous  day,  420 ; 
the  mob  threatens  to  loot  his  house, 
358 ;  S.  attests  his  difficulty  in 
inducing  him  to  follow  the  lead  of 
Valori,  413  f. 

Ridolfi,  Niccoli,  condemned  for 
Medicean  conspiracy,  168  f.;  men- 
tioned, 147  itote,  399 

Ridolfi,  Ridolfo,  speeches  of,  in  debate, 
312,  373,  386  f. 

Ridolfi,  Schiatta,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
264 

Ridolfi,  Vincenzo,  murders  Francesco 
Valori,  357 

Rigorism,  alleged,  of  S.,  38  f. 

Rinuccini,  Alamanno,  proclaims  that 
Ughi  will  not  preach  on  the  day  of 
the  riot,  373 

Rinuccini,  Alessandro,  Fra  (O.P.),  goes 
to  Rome  to  urge  the  separation  of  S. 
Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congrega- 
tion, 96 

Rival  preachers,  jealousies  of,  161  ; 
and  s.  vv.  Barba,  F.  Mariano  della, 
and  Domenico  da  Ponzo 

"  Roasting,  a  good,"  designed  by  S. 
for  the  Franciscan  champion  in  the 
ordeal,  421 

Robbia,  Luca  della,  helps  in  the  defence 
of  S.  Marco,  his  deposition  quoted 
on  the  riot,  351  ff-  notes 

Rohr,  Dr  J.,  on  mediaeval  prophecy,  69 
note 

Roman  court ;  s.  v.  Rome 

Romano,  Ezzelino  da  ;  s.  v.  Ezzelino,  I 

Rome  {i.e.  the  Pope  and  the  Roman 
court),  invectives  against,  201,  204, 
220,  283,  285  fl".,  392,  419  ;  "  a  sink  of 
iniquity,"  23,  285 ;  the  stench  from, 
286  ;  warnings  to,  285 

*'  Romola,"  quoted  and  referred  to,  on 
the  reform  at  Florence,  41  ;  on  the 
attitude  of  S.  to  the  condemned 
Medicean  conspirators,  169  ;  on  the 
scene  when    the  arrival  of  the  corn 


2  G 


466 


INDEX 


"  Romola  " — continued 
ships  was   announced,    213  ;  on   the 
closing  scene,  438 

Romolino,  Francesco,  one  of  the  Papal 
Commissaries  to  examine  S.,  his 
alleged  prejudgment  of  the  case, 
and  misplaced  levity,  383  f.  ;  his 
personal  character,  ibid.  ;  the  ex- 
amination of  S.  by,  410,  421  ff.  ;  his 
letter  reporting  the  trial  and  execu- 
tion, 434  f.  ;  his  action  discussed, 
429  ff. 

Rondinelli,  Fra  Giuliano  (O.F.M,), 
the  Franciscan  champion  in  the 
ordeal,  321  f.,  334,  341,' 340 

"  Rope,"  the,  torture  employed  in 
examination  and  as  punishment,  the 
use  of,  approved  by  S.,  366;  S. 
suspended  on,  371,  424;  and  s.  v. 
Torture 

Rovere,  Giorgio  della,  Bishop  of 
Orvieto,  134 

Rovere,  Giovanna  della,  "  Prefectissa  " 
of  Sinigaglia,  415 

Rovere,  Giuliano  della  (afterwards 
Pope  Julius  II. )j  nephew  of  Sixtus 
IV.,  19  tiote ;  exercises  undue 
influence  over  Innocent  VIII. ,  22; 
desires  the  calling  of  a  Council  and 
the  deposition  of  Alexander  VI.,  and 
to  this  end  favours  the  invasion  of 
Charles  VIII.,  121  ;  alleged  attempt 
of  S.  to  enter  into  relations  with, 
428 ;  and  s.  vv.  Julius  II.  ;  Bulls, 
Papal 

Rucellai,  Bernardo,  remonstrates  with 
S.  on  behalf  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici, 
75  ;  speech  of,  in  debate,  381 

Rucellai,  Camilla,  her  alleged  revela- 
tion in  favour  of  a  design  to  assassi- 
nate B.  del  Nero,  417;  alleged 
dealings  of  S.  with,  427 

Rucellai,  Girolamo,  speech  of,  in 
debate,  334 

Rucellai,  Paolo,  bidden  by  the  Pope  to 
thank  J.  de'  Nerli  for  his  exertion 
against  S.,  261 

"  Ruffians,  aristocratic,"  347 

•'  Ruina  Ecclesiae,  De,"  Savonarola's 
poem,  7 

"Ruina  Mundi,  De,"  Savonarola's 
poem,  5 

Ruth  and  Micheas,  sermons  on,  209 

Sabinianus,  Pope,     blamed   his   pre- 
decessor S.  Gregory,  291 
Sacchetti,  ,  speech  of,  in  debate, 

314 
Sacrament,       the      Blessed,       s.      w. 
Eucharist,  Host;  the  "species'*  of, 


405,  cf.  343  ;  and  s.  v.  "  Substance 
and  Accidents  " 

Sacraments,  the  frequentation  of,  S. 
on,  40  ;  administered  by  S.  notwith- 
standing the  excommunication,  427 

Sacramoro,  Fra  Malatesta,  da  Rimini 
(O.P.),  brings  a  message  from 
Camilla  Rucellai  to  S.,  417  ;  volun- 
teers for  the  ordeal,  333  f.  ;  his  offer 
makes  a  great  impression  in  Rome, 
334,  347 ;  sent  by  S.  to  make 
arrangements,  338 ;  said  to  have 
betrayed  S.  on  the  niglit  of  the 
riot,  362  ;  countersigns  the  garbled 
deposition  of  S. ,  364  ;  takes  a  leading 
part  in  regard  of  the  letter  whereby 
the  community  of  S.  Marco  disowns 
S.,   378  ;  is  banished  for  ten   years, 

379 

Saints,  the,  and  Savonarola,  441 

Salvestro  Marufifi,  Fra  (O.P.);  s.  v. 
Maruffi 

Salviati,  family,  several  members  of, 
at  S.  Marco,  103 

Salviati,  Alamanno,  mentioned  as  a 
prominent  supporter  of  S.,  404,  413, 
416 

Salviati,  Francesco,  Archbishop  of  Pisa, 
murdered  in  the  Duomo  of  Florence, 
20,  278 

Salviati,  P'ra  Francesco  (O.  P.)  goes  to 
Rome  on  the  affair  of  the  separation 
of  S.  Marco  from  the  Lombard 
Congregation,  106 ;  as  Prior  of  S. 
Marco  countersigns  the  garbled 
deposition  of  S.,  364 

Salviati,  Giuliano,  one  of  the 
Accoppiatori,  and  one  of  the  first 
to  resign  with  D.  Bonsi,  413  ; 
elected  one  of  the  Signory,  399 ; 
declines  to  sign  the  "subscription," 
403  _ 

Salviati,  Jacopo,  secretary  to  Piero  de' 
Medici,  letter  of,  to  Piero,  concern- 
ing the  separation  of  S.  Marco  from 
the  Lombard  Congregation,  98 ; 
incurs  odium  of  political  adversaries, 
147  note  ;  mentioned  as  a  prominent 
supporter  of  S.,  404,  413,  416 

Salviati,  Marcuccio,  captain  of  a  special 
guard  on  occasion  of  the  ordeal,  340  ; 
friendly  to  S.  347  note ;  protects  the 
Dominican  Friars  from  the  Compag- 
nacci,  347 

Salviati,  Fra  Ruberto,  volunteers  for 
the  ordeal  with  Fra  Malatesta,  333  f., 
347  ;  see  above,  under  Sacramoro, 
Malatesta 

San  Gallo,  Augustinian  monastery  near 
Florence,    founded  by  Lorenzo  de' 


INDEX 


467 


San  Gallo — continued 
Medici,  13  ;  S.  sings  Mass  at,  invited 
by  Fra  Mariano,  79 

San  Gimignano,  Savonarola  preaches 
at,  and  there  first  propounds  his 
"conclusions,"  14 f.,  411  ;  Kra  Sal- 
vestro  preaches  at,  388 ;  Dominican 
convent  at,  project  for  union  of  with 
S.  Marco,  proves  abortive,  104,  106  ; 
probably  by  reason  of  political 
motives,  215  f  ;  to  be  incorporated  in 
the  new  Congregation,  214  ;  members 
of  S.  Marco  to  be  sent  thither,  and 
resident  members  to  be  dismissed  at 
discretion  of  S.,  216 

San  Lorenzo,  church  of,  at  Florence, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Medici, 
86  7tote  ;  S.  preaches  at,  in  1482,  12  ; 
and  again  in  1492,  86,  118  note 

San  Marco,  Dominican  church  and 
convent  of,  at  Florence,  formerly  a 
Silvestrine  monastery,  but  refounded 
by  Cosimo  de'  Medici  and  enriched 
by  him,  80  ;  its  history,  92  and  notes  ; 
S.  comes  to  for  the  first  time,  and 
is  made  "lector"  at,  11  ;  returns  to, 
26  ;  made  prior  of,  79  i.  ;  negotiations 
for  separation  of,  from  the  Lombard 
Congregation,  89  ft'.  ;  the  Brief  of 
separation  obtained  by  Carafl'a,  97  f. ; 
the  alleged  motives  of  S  in  procuring 
it,  9of.,  418;  his  real  motives  set 
forth  by  himself,  93  ft".  ;  the  work  of 
reform  vigorously  carried  out  at, 
102  ff.  ;  "angelic  life"  at,  260  ;  high 
encomiums  on,  of  Lenzi  and  Valori, 
310,  313  ;  other  convents  associated 
with,  under  the  name  of  the  Congre- 
gation of  S.  Marco,  104  ff.  ;  and  s.  v. 
Fiesole,  Pisa,  Prato,  Sasso ;  to  be 
reunited  with  Lombard  Congregation, 
185,  cf.  193  ;  the  project  dropped, 
194  ;  to  be  incorporated  in  a  new 
Congregation,  213  f,;  the  ordinance 
criticised  by  S.,  215,  238  ;  who 
declines  to  obey,  275  ;  and  protested 
against  by  the  community  in  their 
"  Apologcticum,"  216  fT.  ;  but  sup- 
ported by  Torriano  and  Caraffa,  216, 
227  ;  and  s.  vv.  Carafla,  Torriano ; 
the  question  discussed,  241  If.  ;  letters 
of  the  community  of,  to  the  Pope 
(l)  in  favour  of  the  separation  of  S. 
Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congrega- 
tion, 92  f  ;  (2)  protesting  against  the 
project  of  the  new  ConLjregalion,  216 ; 
(3)  in  defence  of  S.,  263  ;  (4)  on  the 
ordeal,  333,  cf.   347  ;  (5)  disowning 

s.,  378 

Sandeo,  Felino,  or  Filino,  the  Anziani 


of  Lucca  write  to,  thnt  S.  may  be 
sent  there  to  preach,  179;  his  opinion 
on  the  duty  of  canonical  oljedience, 
242  f.  ;  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Commission  of  Reform,  259;  letter 
of  d'Este  to,  repudiating  all  con- 
nection with  Pico's  "Apology"  for 
S.,  321  f.  ;  declared  by  S.  to  have 
been  hostile  to  him,  423 

Sansoni-Riario,  Raffaelle,  Cardinal, 
nephew  of  Sixtus  IV.,  29  note; 
present  in  Florence  at  the  time  of  the 
conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi,  and  im- 
prisoned, though  not  an  accomplice, 
20 

Santa  Croce,  family  feuds  of,  in  Rome, 

23 

Santa  Croce,  Franciscan  church  and  con- 
vent of,at  Florence, da  Ponzo  preaches 
at,  in  controversy  with  S.,  161  ff.  ; 
a  Brief  intended  for  S.  Marco, 
addressed  to,  in  error,  184  and  note  ; 
Francesco  di  Puglia  puts  forth  his 
challenge  at,  327  ;  the  community  of, 
and  the  ordeal,  338,  341  ff".  ;  their 
probable  motives  and  intentions, 
345  fl".  ;  thanked  and  rewarded  by 
the  Pope  and  the  Signory,  348 

Santi,  Fra,  said  to  have  brought  a 
message  to  S.  from  P.  de'  Medici, 
225 

Santo  Spirito,  church  of,  at  Florence, 
publication  of  the  excommunication 
of  S.  at,  236 

Sarzana  and  Sarzanella,  cession  of,  with 
other  fortresses,  to  Charles  VIIL, 
123 

Sasso,  S.  Maria  del,  Dominican 
residence,  raised  to  the  rank  of  a 
priory,  109 ;  and  colonised  from  S. 
Marco,  no;  incorporated  with  new 
Congregation,  214 

Savonarola,  family,  of  Paduan  origin,  I 

Savonarola,  Alberto,  brother  of  Giro- 
lamo,  his  charity  to  the  poor,  2  and 
note  ;  letter  of  G.  to,  266 

Savonarola,  Bartolommeo,  2 

Savonarola,  Elena  (Buonaccorsi), 
mother  of  Girolamo,  his  affectionate 
relations  with,  2  note  ;  letter  to,  11 

Savonarola,  Girolamo,  his  lectures 
and  sermons,  subjects  and  dates  of, 
xix.,  116  ff".,  118  note;  on  the 
Apocalypse,  26  f ,  53  (where  S. 
himself  gives  a  wrong  date),  411 
(S.  gives  the  date  correctly),  388 ; 
on  Genesis  and  the  Ark,  29  f,  33 
7iote,  117  ff".  ;  on  Aggaeus  (Haggai), 
124  f ,  145  f ;  on  Amos  and  Zacharias, 


468 


INDEX 


Savonarola,  Girolamo — continued 
2CX)f.  ;  on  Ruth  and  Micheas,  209  ff.; 
on  Ezechiel,  222,  228  f.  ;  on  Exodus, 
272  ff.,  285  ff.  (chaps,  xiv.  x\.,  pas- 
sim) -  before  the  ordeal,  340  f.  ;  to 
his  brethren  before  hi?  arrest,  362  ; 
letters  from,  to  his  father,  6  ;  to  his 
mother,  11  ;  to  Fra  Domenico,  74; 
to  "  una  Badessa  di  Ferrara,"  93  ff.  ; 
to  P.  de'  Medici,  100 ;  to  Charles 
VIII.  and  other  sovereigns,  141  ff., 
324  f.,  cf.  212,  and  s.  v.  Letters  to 
Princes;  to  the  Pope,  181,  186  ff., 
259  f.,  267,  307;  to  Sforza,  207  f.  ; 
"to  all  Christians,"  236  ff.  ;  to  an 
enquirer,  239  f. ;  to  Lodovico  Pittorio, 
256,  265  f.  ;  to  his  brother  Alberto, 
266  ;  to  Fra  Marcantonio  da  Ficino, 
ibid.;  works  of,  "  De  Ruina  Mundi," 

4  f.  ;  "  Del  Dispregio,"  etc.,  6  f.  ; 
"  De  Ruina  Ecclesiae,"  8  ;  "  Oratio 
pro  Ecclesia,"  21;  "  De  Simplici- 
tate  Vitae  Christianae,"  31  f.  ; 
"Compendium  Revelationum "  and 
"  Dyalogus  de  Veritate  Prophetica," 

5  iff.;  "  Apologeticum  Fratrum  S. 
Marci,"  216  ff.  ;  "  De  Triumpho 
Crucis,"  234  f.,  255.  For  the  in- 
cidents of  Savonarola's  life  see 
Analytical  Table  of  Contents,  and 
for  various  topics  see  the  Index 
s.  vv.  Alms,  Ambition,  Arrest, 
Disobedience,  Excommunication,  In- 
vectives, Orthodoxy,  Prophecy,  Sub- 
mission, Visions,  etc..  etc. 

Savonarola,  Marco,  afterwards  Fra 
Maurelio,  2,  266 

Savonarola,  Michele,  Girolamo's  grand- 
father, I  ff ;  his  care  of  G.'s  education, 
2  ;  his  writings,  3 

Savonarola,  Niccolo,  Girolamo's  father, 
2  ;  letter  to,  6 

Savonarola,  Ognibene,  2 

Savonarola,  the  Porta,  at  Padua,  i 

Scandal,  the  fear  of,  a  reason  for  ob- 
servance of  a  censure  unjustly  in- 
flicted, etc.,  239  f.,  243,  cf.  254; 
declared  by  S.  not  to  exist  in  his 
case,  297  ;  but  the  excommunication 
ought  to  be  withdrawn  for  fear  of, 
282  ;  danger  of  in  the  proposal  to 
carry  the  sacred  Host  into  the  fire, 
344,  cf.  436 ;  denied  by  Fra 
Domenico,  344,  404 

"Scandalously  false,  or  scandalously 
true?"  210 

Scarfa,  F""rancesco,  visited  by  Guidetti 
and  Machiavelli,  399  ;  proposed  as 
candidate  for  office  of  Gonfaloniere, 
401 ;  elected  one  of  the  Ten,  415 


"Scarsi,"  F.  (in  deposition  of  S.) 
probably  an  error  for  "  Scarfa"  (^.f.), 

Schiattesi,  Jacopo,  speeches  of,  in 
debate,  313,  382;  contrary  to  ex- 
pectation signs    the  "subscription," 

4°3      .  . 

Schiattesi,  Santi,  a  former  prior  of  S. 
Marco,  allows  the  convent  to  acquire 
possessions,  etc.,  102 

Schism,  the  danger  of,  from  the  efforts 
of  S.  to  procure  a  Council,  etc.,  366  f., 
432f.,r/.  429 

Schismatic,  the  Pope  wishes  to  con- 
demn S.  as,  204  ;  S.  condemned  as, 
438 

Schmalzgrueber,  Canonist,  on  obser- 
vance of  censures,  etc.,  245  note 

Schnitzer,  Dr  J.,  on  the  prophetic  claim 
of  S.,  63  f.  note  ;  on  the  invalidity  of 
certain  dispensations,  221  ;  but  his 
argument  does  not  meet  the  case  of 
S.,  ibid. ;  authorities  adduced  by,  on 
canonical  obedience,  242  ;  on  the 
moral  victory  achieved  by  S.,  440. 
(See  also  Preface,  p.  ix.). 

Scourge,  a,  foretold,  288,  290,  329 
note  ;  and  s.  v.  Tribulations,  Chastise- 
ments 

"  Scribes  and  Pharisees,"  fight  against 
S.,  74 

Seal  of  confession,  the,  379  f. 

Secret  documents,  said  to  be  com- 
municated "in  confession,"  380; 
and  s.  V.  "  Polizze  " 

"  Secrets  of  God,"  alleged  to  have  been 
communicated  to  S.,  or  by  him,  136, 

341,  387 

"  Secrets  of  hearts,"  to  read  is  no  part 
of  the  prop'uetic  office,  60 

Seditious  conduct,  S.  accused  of,  402 

"  Seduti "  and  "  veduti,"  i.e.  those  who 
have  held  office  by  actual  or  honorary 
tenure,  158 

Segorbe,  Bishop  of,  s.  v.  Costa,  G.  da, 

"  Sei  fave,"  i.e.  "six  beans,"  a  two- 
thirds  majority  of  the  Signory  or  the 
Eight  in  criminal  convictions,  the 
law  of  appeal  against,  discussed, 
I59ff.  ;  favoured  by  S.  but  strongly 
opposed,  and  the  opposition  sup- 
ported by  da  Ponzo  (s.  v.  Domenico 
da  P.),  160  ff.  ;  finally  passed,  163  f.  ; 
subsequently  referred  to,  211,  413 

Self-deception,  danger  of,  67  ;  and  s.  v. 
Delusion 

"  Semi-plena  probatio,"  i.e.  circum- 
stantial evidence,  required  as  a  con- 
dition for  examination  of  an  accused 
person  by  torture,  422 


INDEX 


469 


Septuagesima  1498,  S.  resumes  his 
sermons  on,  after  excommunication, 
extracts  from  his  discourse,  272  \i.  ; 
to  be  taken  as  deliberate  utterances, 
279  ;  his  motives  for  breaking  silence, 
275,  417;  tlie  matter  referred  to  in 
despatches,  296  ff. 

Sermons,  Savonarola's,  list  of,  with  cor- 
rected or  suggested  liates,  118  and 
noie  ;  and  in  Bibliographical  List  aud 
Index,  under  Savonarola 

Services,  the,  of  Savonarola,  to  Florence, 
166,  172;  enumerated  by  the  spokes- 
man of  the  children,  47  ;  and  by  S. 
himself,  191  f.;  and  s.  v.  Constitu- 
tion, Reform 

"Settanta,  Consiglio  de',"  the  elective 
body  under  the  Medici,  151 

"Seventy,  the,"  s.  v.  "  Settanta 
Consiglio  de' " 

Severity  in  administration  of  justice 
urged  by  S.,  63,  213,  222,  366, 
422,  c/.  433  f.,  437 

Sexagesima  1498,  Sermon  of  S.  on, 
279  ft". 

"Sfida,"  or  "d;sfida,"  the  challenge 
(or  counter-challenge)  to  the  ordeal, 
330,  337  ;  and  s.  v.  Challenge 

Sforza,  Ascanio,  Cardinal,  intrigues 
against  S.,  205,  298,  cf.  325;  letter 
of  to  Lodovico  Sforza,  suggesting 
means  for  carrjing  out  the  "good 
work  of  crushing  the  wickedness  "  of 
S. ,  306 ;  his  scandalous  life  and 
hypocrisy,  idtd. 

Sforza,  Galeazzo,  Duke  of  Milan, 
Sixtus  IV.  purchases  Imola  from, 
18,  20  noie;  murdered  in  the  church 
of  S.  Stefano  at  Milan,  26th  December 
1476,  24 

Sforza,  Giangaleazzo,  Duke  of  Milan, 
kept  in  conlinement  by  Lodovico 
Sforza,  121  ;  death  of,  124 

Sforza,  Isabella  (of  Anjou  and  Naples), 
complains  to  Italian  princes  of  tiie 
ill  treatment  of  her  husband  Gianga- 
leazzo, 121 

Sforza,  Lodovico  ("The  Moor"), 
regent  and  afterwards  Duke  of 
Milan,  opposes  the  separation  of  S. 
Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congrega- 
tion, 96 ;  usurps  the  regency  of 
Milan,  and  keeps  the  young  Duke 
Giangaleazzo  in  confinement,  121  ; 
invites  Charles  VIII.  into  Italy  as  a 
means  of  strengthening  his  power, 
idid.;  alters  his  policy  on  the  death 
of  Giangaleazzo,  133  ;  enters  the 
**  Holy  League  "  against  the  French, 
iliid.;  his  emissaries  reasonably  feared 


by  S.,  182,  (/.  416;  alleged  to  have 
intercepted  a  forged  letter  purporting 
to  be  from  S.  to  Charles  VIII.,  212 
intercedes  for  Medicean  conspirators 
267 ;  negotiationsof,  with  d' tsie,  269 
his  treacherous  assurances  of  friend- 
ship for  Florence,  317;  intercepted 
Mazzinghi's  letter  to  Guasconion  the 
project  for  a  Council,  and  com- 
municates it  to  the  Pope,  325 ; 
letters  of,  208,  321.  (For  letters  to 
Sforza  see  under  Savonarola,  Somenzi, 
Taverna,  Tranchedino. ) 

Siena,  Charles  VIII.  at,  137;  in  league 
with  P.  de'  Medici  against  Florence, 
195  7to/e ;  Dominican  convent  at, 
abortive  attempt  to  unite  with  S. 
Marco,  104 ;  to  be  incorporated  in 
the  new  Congregation,  214,  c/.  219; 
hatred  of  inhabitants  for  Florentines, 
218 

"  Sifting,"  a  process  of  spiritual,  neces- 
sary for  Florence,  280 ;  and  s.  v. 
"  Winnowing-fan  " 

"  Sigillum  ; "  s.  v.  Seal  of  Confession 

Signory,  the,  chief  magistracy  at 
Florence,  changed  every  two  months, 
149;  favour  the  separation  of  S. 
Marco  from  the  Lombard  Congrega- 
tion, and  the  union  of  other  con- 
vents with  S.  Marco,  96,  104  ft". ;  and 
the  reform  of  Prato,  iioff.;  S. 
preaches  before  in  the  Palazzo,  76, 
c/.  153  and  no/e,  17 1  ;  members  of 
attend  his  sermons,  156;  invite  him 
to  resume  sermons  in  Lent  1496, 
200  ;  the  members  of  said  to  be 
appointed  by  S. ,  203  ;  but  in  fact 
nothing  serious  proved  as  to  canvas- 
sing, etc.,  393  ft".;  alleged  revelation 
of  names  of,  before  publication,  396, 
399  ;  the  Ten  at  cross-purposes  with 
(the  Signory  being  hostile  to  S.),  in 
May  and  June  1497,  233;  prohibit 
S.  from  preaching.  May  1497,  230  f.; 
favourable  to  S.,  July  1497  to 
February  1498,  254,  284 ;  reproved 
by  S.  for  showing  too  much  con- 
sideration for  the  Pope  ;  prohibit  S. 
from  preaching  in  the  Duomo,  Lent 
1498,  287;  alleged  treacherous  action 
of,  302  f.;  "persuade"  S.  to  cease 
from  preaching  at  S.  Marco,  Lent 
149S,  316  ;  divided  in  opinion  about 
S.,  317  ;  cite  before  them  the  parties 
to  the  ordeal,  329  ft". ;  arrangements 
made  by  them  for  avoidance  of  a 
riot,  339  f. ;  they  dismiss  both  parties, 
344  f. ;  their  action  discussed,  346  ; 
their  behaviour  during  the  riot,  355  ; 


470 


INDEX 


S  ignory — cotitimitd 

and  in  connection  with  the  trial  of 
S.  and  his  companions,  371  (see 
Analytical  Table  of  Contents,  chap, 
xxi.)  ;  letters  of  (i)  to  the  Tope  («) 
in  favour  of  S.,  178,  197  f.,  303  (on 
the  motives  which  prompted  this 
letter,  see  text,  ibid.);  {b)  unfavour- 
able to  him,  324,  373  ;  (2)  to  Carafia, 
all  favourable  to  S.,  96,  104,  107,  267  ; 

(3)  to  their  ambassadors  in  Rome  {a) 
in  favour  of  S.,  261  f.,  265,  267, 
270  f. ;  (/')  unfavourable  to  him,  324  ; 

(4)  to  the  authorities  at  Prato  in 
favour  of  the  reforms  effected  there 
by  S.,  iioff. 

Signs,  supernatural,  etc.,  the  time  for 
not  yet  come,  278;  ''You  have 
signs  enough,"  viz.  the  manifold 
deliverances  of  Florence,  279 ;  strange 
and  misleading  appeal  for,  283  f. ; 
the  favour  which  Fra  Mariano  enjoys 
is  "a  sign"  that  he  is  not  of  God, 
291  ;  "an  evil  .  .  .  generation 
seeketh  a  sign,"  but  miracles  are 
not  necessary,  293,  cf.  58  f. ,  338 
(Vespucci's  speech)  ;  and  s.  v.  Ordeal 

"  Signs  of  the  times,"  292 ;  purity  of 
heart  predisposes  to  read,  69 

Silence,  the,  of  S.  in  respect  of  preach- 
ing, his  motives  for,  200  f. ,  254,  416  f. ; 
and  s.  V.  Preaching,  prohibition  of 

Simony,  prevalence  of  at  Rome,  15,  17, 
280 ;  effects  of  on  validity  of  Papal 
election,  430  f.  ;  and  s.  vv.  Alexander 
VI.,  Election 

"  Simplicity,"  the  virtue  of,  tract  of  S. 
on,  31  ;  importance  of,  31,  153 

Sinibaldi,  Fra  Giovanni,  Master  of 
Novices  at  S.  Marco,  countersigns 
the  garbled  deposition  of  S.,  364 

Sinigaglia,  the  "  Prefectissa  "  of  (Gio- 
vanna  della  Rovere),  alleged  to  be  on 
friendly  terms   with   Charles   VIII., 

415 

*'  Sink  of  iniquity,"  Rome  a,  23,  285  ff. 

Sistine  Chapel,  the,  23 

Sixtus  IV.,  Pope  (Francesco  della 
Rovere),  Dr  W,  Barry  on  the  scandals 
of  his  reign,  16  f.  ;  S.  probably 
believed  in  his  personal  immorality, 
ibid. ;  but  the  imputation  appears 
to  be  groundless,  17  ;  his  alleged 
"  paganism,"  16;  his  personal  piety, 
17  ;  his  desire  to  increase  the  terri- 
torial possessions  of  the  Holy  See, 
16,  18  ;  his  nepotism  and  promotion 
of  unworthy  favourites,  17  ff.  ;  the 
scandalous  excesses  of  his  nephews, 
19  ff. ;  his  action  in  relation  to   the 


conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi,  20  f.  ;  in 
which,  however,  he  was  not  an 
accomplice,  ibid.  ;  his  responsibility 
for  the  war  with  Ferrara,  21,  cf. 
16  f.  ;  the  interdict  on  Florence, 
1478,  and  Venice,  1484,  21  ;  his 
character,  19  no!e 

Skirmish,  the,  in  S.  Marco,  on  the  day 
of  the  riot,  360  ;  and  s.  v.  Riot 

Sleep,  Fra  Salvestro's  habit  of  talking 
in,  388 

Society  of  Jesus,  suppression  of,  by 
Clement  XIV.,  illustration  from,  221 

Soderini,  Francesco,  Bishop  of  Volterra 
(not  of  Arezzo  as  in  text),  399,  417 

Soderini,  Pagolantonio,  remonstrates 
with  S.  concerning  his  predictions, 
on  behalf  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  75  ; 
ambassador  at  Venice,  157;  originates 
the  project  of  a  change  of  government 
at  Florence,  155  ;  his  alleged  motive, 
ibid.  ;  favours  the  establishment  of  a 
Council  on  the  Venetian  model,  157  ; 
as  a  member  of  the  Ten  proposes  a 
measure  to  that  effect,  157  f.  ;  is  one 
of  the  interlocutors  in  Guicciar- 
dini's  dialogue,  "  Del  Reggimento  di 
Firenze,"  167  note;  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  leading  members  of  his 
party,  398,  400,  414  f.;  his  varying 
relations  with  Valori,  398  ;  from 
whom  he  is  alienated  by  the  execution 
of  the  Medicean  conspirators,  169  and 
note;  speeches  of,  in  debate,  309, 
336  ;  appointed  one  of  the  committee 
on  the  affair  of  S.,  315;  the  mob 
threaten  to  loot  his  house,  336 

Soderini,  Piero,  speech  of,  in  debate, 
373  ;  made  Gonfaloniere  for  life  in 
1502,  172 

Somenzi,  Paolo,  chancellor  of  Lodovico 
Sforza,  and  Milanese  ambassador  at 
Florence,  his  correspondence  valuable 
for  the  history  of  the  time,  197  ;  hopes 
to  gain  over  S.,  and,  through  him, 
Florence,  to  the  League,  209,  223  ; 
attributes  treacherous  designs  to  the 
Signory,  303  ;  himself  gives  treacher- 
ous assurances  of  friendship  to  the 
Signory,  317  ;  his  minute  account  of 
the  riot,  chap.  xix.  notes  passim ; 
letters  of,  to  Sforza,  full  of  malicious 
gossip  about  S.,  202,  225,  228,  261, 
301  f.,  319,  322  f.,  344,  377 

"  Son  of  iniquity,"  Savonarola  styled  a, 
287,  300,  303 

"  Sonecli,"  ?.<?.  scurrilous  ballads  con- 
cerning the  Pope,  read  in  his  presence, 
and  alleged  to  be  rife  at  Florence, 
300 


INDEX 


471 


"Sons  or  nephews?"  i.e.  the  bastard 
cliildren  of  the  clergy,  and  especially 
of  the  Pope  and  prelates,  285 

Sortilej^c,  use  of,  in  elections,  149  and 
note,  222  note 

Spain,  joins  the  "  Holy  League,"  133  ; 
S.  writes  to  King  and  (^ueen  of,  and 
causes  a  letter  to  be  written,  etc.,  325, 

393.419 
*'  Species  sacramenti,"  405  ;  and  s.  v. 

"  Substance  and  Accidents  " 
Speeches  of  S.  to  Charles  VIII.,  127  {L, 

139 

Spina,  Giovanni,  employed  by  S.  as 
messenger  to  Simonedel  Nero  [.q.v.), 

393 

Spini,  Ridolfo  ("Doffo"),  chief  of  the 
Compagnacci  {q.v.),  231,  340,  345, 
347i  351  >  iJ-  member  of  the  Commis- 
sion appointed  to  examine  S.,  371  ; 
speech  of,  in  debate,  381 

"Spiritual  exercises,  the,"  ascetical 
system  of  S.  compared  with,  31 

"  Spiritual  sense  "  of  Holy  Scripture, 
the,  289 

Spoleto,  Dolce,  Count  of,  alleged 
dealings  of  S.  with,  416 

"  Standards  of  God,"  the,  2S8 

"Starvation,  spiritual,"  the  Florentines 
suflfer  from,  while  S.  is  silent,  231, 

417 
"Stench,   a,  from    the   Roman   sink," 

286  f. 
Stiattesi ;    s.  v.  Schiattesi 
Stone-throwing, the  mischievous  pastime 

of,   abolished    by   S.,    281 ;    revived 

during  the  riot,  351 
Strozzi,   family,  six  members  of  at  S. 

Marco,  103 
Strozzi,  Fra  Alessandro  (O.P.),  said  to 

have     changed     clothes     with     Fra 

Domenico  at  the  ordeal,  343 
Strozzi,  Alfonso,   declines  to  sign  the 

"subscription,"  402 
Strozzi,  Laodamia,  illegitimate  daughter 

of  Lorenzo  Strozzi,  refuses  the  hand 

of  S.  in  marriage,  4 
Strozzi,   Lionardo,  letters  of,  concern- 
ing the  riot,  326  note,  338  note 
Strozzi,  Lorenzo,  a  Florentine  exile  at 

Ferrara,      ne^hbour      to      Michele 

Savonarola,  4 
Strozzi,  Mattco,  helps  to  provide  arms 

for   the  defence   of  S,    Marco,    352 

note 
Studies,  Savonarola's,   4  f.  ;   course  of 

at  S.  Marco,  103 
Stufa,  Enea  di,  speech  of,  in  debate, 

312 
Stufa,  Guglielmina  di,  letter  of,  idznote 


Subjective  tests  of  prophecy,  65 ;  and 
s.  v.  Certainty 

Submission,  reiterated  professions  of, 
by  S.,  59,  187,  192,  201,  234,  237, 
268,  270,  280,  301 

"  Subscription,"  or  joint  letter,  of 
Florentine  citizens  in  favour  of  S., 
263  f.  ;  occasioned  by  a  letter  of 
Bracci  to  Bastiano  da  Firenzuola, 
404  ;  favoured  at  first  by  Valori,  402, 
404  :  but  afterwards  disliked  by  him, 
403 ;  organised  by  P'ra  Salvestro, 
420  f.  ;  and  Fra  R.  Ubaldini,  401  ff., 
with  help  of  notaries,  402,  404; 
signatures  to,  402  f.  ;  some  of  obscure 
men,  ibid.  ;  some  by  invitation,  ibid. ; 
some  very  unexpected,  ibid. ;  many 
decline  to  sign,  ibid. ;  the  matter 
allowed  to  drop  because  of  the 
plague,  403 ;  subsequent  debates 
about,  264,  380  f.  ;  prisoners 
examined  on,  401  ff.  ;  S.  on,  418 

"Subscription,"  or  "forma  vivendi," 
signed  by  citizens  of  Prato,  206  f. 

Substance  and  Accidents,  343 

Subversive  principles  of  S.,  189;  and 
s.  vv.  Independence,  Schism,  etc. 

Success  not  a  test  of  morality,  368 

Summa,  the,  of  S.   Thomas  Aquinas, 

29.  35 . 
Superstition,  alleged,  of  S.,  204 

"Tabernacles  of  God,"  294-5 

"  Tablet,  the,"  incident  connected  with, 
210 

Taverna,  Stefano,  Bishop  of  Parma, 
and  Milanese  ambassador  at  Rome, 
Bonsi  reports  interviews  with,  298, 
304 ;  letters  from,  quoted  and  re- 
ferred to,  121,  321 

Taverns,  thrown  open  while  S.  is 
forbidden  to  preach,  274 

Taxes,  P'lorentine,  reform  of,  154 

Teaching,  doctrinal,  of  S.,  188,  193, 
302,  etc.,  and  s.  vv.  Orthodoxy, 
Submission 

"Te  Deum,"  at  S.  Marco  and  S. 
Croce,  after  the  Ordeal,  845 

Tempter,  the,  dialogue  with,  in  the 
"  Compendium  Revelationum,"  55  ff. 

"  Ten,  the,"  the  Florentine  foreign 
office,  150,  157,  198,  224,  233,  299, 
302,  318,  329,  333,  339,  370;  letters 
of,    197,   202,   227,    234,    25S,    299, 

303  f-,  317,  321  f-,  415 
"Tepidi,"  the  class  intermediate  be- 
tween the  good  and  the  openly 
wicked  (s.  vv.  "  Cattivi,"  "Tristi"), 
and  represented  as  openly  or  secretly 
hostile,  32,    33    note,    70    note,    72 


472 


INDEX 


**  Tepidi  " — continued 
note,     228,     237,     274,     278,     284, 
289 

Terminology,  misleading,  in  use  at  S. 
Marco,  3S0,  425 

"TertuUian,  the,  of  his  age,"  S.  de- 
scribed as,  38 

Theodosius,  Emp.  and  S.  Ambr.,  286 

Theological  studies,  Savonarola's,  4  ; 
at  S.  Marco,  103 

Thomas  Aquinas,  S.,  studied  by 
Savonarola,  4  ;  his  Summa  frequently 
referred  to  in  Savonarola's  sermons, 
29,  35  ;  on  private  revelations,  71  ; 
on  obedience,  274 

Thomas,  "  the  beadle,"  or  crier,  his 
deposition,  370 

"Times,  the,  and  the  moments," 
Mariano's  sermon  on,  77  ;  reply  of 
S.  to,  78  ;  the  "Compendium  Revela- 
tionum  "  on,  58 

Tithe,  a,  on  ecclesiastical  property 
demanded  by  the  Signory,  373 ; 
granted,  383 

Tocco,  Felice,  on  mediaeval  inter- 
pretation of  the  Apocalypse,  9 ;  on 
mediaeval  prophets,  69  note 

Todi,  Jacopone  da,  s.  v.  Jacopone  da  T. 

Tornabuoni,  family,  several  members 
of,  at  S.  Marco,  103  ;  one  of,  wounded 
in  the  streets  of  Florence,  132 

Tornabuoni,  Fra  Cosimo  (O.P.),  invites 
Lorenzo  T.  to  sign  the  "  subscrip- 
tion," 403  ;  countersigns  the  garbled 
deposition  of  S.,  364 

Tornabuoni,  Lorenzo,  accompanies 
Piero  de'  Medici  to  the  camp  of 
Charles  VIIL,  124;  signs  the  "sub- 
scription, 403  ;  but  is  offended  at  not 
having  been  asked  sooner,  and  writes 
his  name  apart  from  the  rest,  ibid.  ; 
implicated  in  Medicean  conspiracy, 
tried,  condemned,  and  executed, 
168 f.,  cf.  357,  366,  403,  and  s.  v. 
Nero,  B.  del  ;  S.  intercedes  for 
"ma  freddamente,"  426;  his  death 
avenged  on  Valori  by  Simone  Torna- 
buoni mentioned,  147  note 

Tornabuoni,  Luigi,  advises  S.  to  enter 
into  relations  with  Giovanna  della 
Rovere,  the  "  Prefettissa  "  of  Sini- 
gaglia,  415         . 

Tornabuoni,  Simone,  assassinates 
Valori,  357 

Torriano,  Fra  Giovacchino,  General  of 
the  Dominican  Order,  supports  S. 
Marco  against  the  LomVjard  Con- 
gregation, loi,  105  ;  confers  on  S. 
the  powers  of  a  Provincial,  104  f.  ; 
raises  the  residence  of  S.  Maria  del 


Sasso  to  the  rank  of  a  Priory,  109 ; 
creates  S.  Vicar  of  the  Congregation 
of  S.  Marco,  109  f.  ;  visits  Prato,  and 
transfers  the  Dominican  convent  there 
to  S.  Marco,  ejecting  the  "con- 
ventuals," but  making  provision  for 
them,  inf.;  requested  to  send  S. 
to  Lucca,  177 ;  concurs  with  the 
Brief,  Refot-rnationi et  Augmento,  215; 
and  promotes  the  project  of  the  new 
Congregation,  221,  249,  252 ;  but 
still  favourable  to  S.,  216  ;  his 
authority  tacitly  ignored  by  S.,  252; 
appointed  Papal  commissary  to  try 
S.,  364,  365  f.,  383  f.  ;  the  examina- 
tion before  him  (conducted  by  Romo- 
lino),  421  ff.  ;  the  action  of  the 
commissaries  discussed,  430  ff.  ;  their 
letter  to  the  Pope,  possibly  not 
Torriano's,  434  ff.  ;  portions  of  it 
inexcusable,  ibid,  and  notes ;  his 
high  character,  437  (f.  384  f.,  letters 
of,  loi,  104  f.,  109  f.,  112,  424 

Torture,  the  use  of  advocated  by  S., 
366,  422,  cf.  432  f. ;  and  s.  vv. 
Punishment,  Severity  ;  not  to  be 
defended  in  se,  365  ;  but  those  who 
used  it  not  necessarily  cruel,  422, 
433  f-  5  principles  and  limitations 
which  governed  and  restricted  its 
use  de  Jure,  though  not  always 
observed,  ibid.;  use  of  in  the  trial 
of  S.,  authorised  by  the  Signory, 
370  ;  and  by  the  Pope,  372  ;  who 
absolves  from  censures  incurred  by 
anticipating  his  permission,  374  ;  its 
actual  infliction  on  S.,  371,  376,  384, 
421  f.,  424,  427  f.,  437;  on  Fra 
Domenico,  371,  376,  384  405  f.; 
on  the  other  prisoners,  376  ;  effect 
of,  on  the  credibility  of  the  de- 
positions, 407 

Tranchedino,  Francesco,  Milanese 
envoy  at  Bologna,  warns  Sforza  not 
to  trust  S.,  209  note;  letters  of, 
quoted  or  referred  to,  174,  209,  223, 
320,  323. 

Treason,  the  action  of  S.  amounted  to, 
368 

Treasure,  alleged  to  be  hoarded  at  S. 
Marco,  386  note 

Treaty,  the,  of  Florence,  with  Charles 
VIIL,  126  note 

Trial,  the,  of  B.  del  Nero  and  his  com- 
panions, 168  f.,  and  7iotes  ;  of  S.  and 
his  companions ;  see  Analytical 
Table  of  Contents,  chaps,  xxi. -xxiv. 

Tribulations,  predicted  by  S.  236  f., 
256,  etc.  ;  sin  the  cause  of,  211, 
213 


INDEX 


473 


"Tiisti,"  i.e.  "the  wicked,"  32;  and 
s.  V.  "  Cattivi  " 

"  Triumph  c.f  the  Cross,  the,"  Savona- 
rola's tract,  216,  234,  iAs  >wte 

"  Trumpets  of  God,"  thc,'^288 

Truth,  the,  sent  by  God  to  Florence, 
291  ;  excites  hatred,  191,  23S  ;  and 
s.  V.  Persecution 

Tudtschis,  N.  de  (Abbot  of  Palermo)  ; 
s.  V.  Panoimitanus 

Tumult,  the  ;  s.  v.  Riot 

Turks,  conquest  of,  projected  by  Charles 
VIII.,  122;  conversion  of,  predicted 
by  S.,  62,  70,  291,  392  ;  and  firmly 
believed  by  Fra  Domenico,  387 

**  Turn  iheni  out  ! "'  Savonarola's  advice 
concerning  wicked  clergy,  277 

"Turning  the  key,"  279  and  note;  and 
s.  V.  Key 

"  Twenty,  the  "  ;  s.  v.  "  Accoppiatori " 

Tyranny,  the,  of  vice,  34  ;  alleged,  at 
S.  Marco,  390 

Tyrants,  invectives  of  S.  against,  77, 
125,  156,  196 

Ubaldini  da  Gagliano,  Fra  Ruberto 
(O.P.),  his  deposition  on  the  state  of 
internal  discipline  at  S.  Marco,  389  f. ; 
employed  to  supervise  the  "sub- 
scription," 401  ff.  ;  he  disclaims  faith 
in  S.,  377  f.  ;  is  banished  for  ten 
years,  379 

Ughi,  Fra  Mariano  (O.P.),  volunteers 
for  the  ordeal,  and  mentioned  in 
connection  therewith,  330,  332,  347, 
349  ft".  ;  is  banished,  379 

Unbelief,  alleged,  of  Alexander  VI., 
392,  and  s.  V.  Infidelity 

Ulivieri,  Canon  of  Florence,  at  Pi^to, 
declares  his  admiration  for  S.,  206 

Unconstitutional  action  of  S.  in  seeking 
to  procure  a  Council,  366,  429  fif. 

Union  of  S.  Marco  with  the  new  Con- 
gregation, alleged  unreasonableness 
of,  219;  and  s.  v.  Congregation, 
Obedience,  etc. 

Usury,  S.  inveighs  against,  34 

Vacillation,  alleged,  of  S.  under  ex- 
amination, 413,  423  f.,  cf.  408  ft". 

Vain-glory  of  munificent  benefactors, 
blamed  by  S.,  294;  alleged  of  S. 
himself,  411  ft".  ;  but  explained  as  an 
equivocation,  410 

Valle,  della,  family  feuds  of,  in  Rome, 

23 
Valori,  Filippo,  Florentine  ambassador 

in  Rome,  96 
Valori,    Francesco,    remonstrates   with 

S.  on  behalf  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici, 


75  ("  Filippo  "  in  the  text  is  an  error 
here) ;  became  the  chief  supporter  of 
S.  with  whom  however  he  communi- 
cates chiefly  through  A.  Cambini, 
398  f.  ;  is  unwilling  to  become  the 
head  of  a  party,  his  irritable  and 
haughty  temper  which  alienates  his 
political  allies,  398  ft".,  414  ;  a  member 
of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 
233  ;  and  of  the  committee  on  the 
affair  of  S.,  315  ;  approves  and  signs 
the  subscription,  401  ;  which  is 
ascribed  to  him  as  chief  promoter, 
404  ;  but  afterwards  disapproves  it, 
and  recommends  that  it  be  not  sent, 
403  ;  his  probable  motives  for  this 
change,  ibid.  ;  elected  Gonfaloniere, 
223  ;  is  chiefly  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing the  condemnation  of  the 
Medicean  conspirators,  and  thereby 
give  oft'ence  to  many,  168  f.  and 
notes ;  speech  of,  in  debate,  warmly 
eulogising  S.  and  the  community  of 
S.  Marco,  223  ;  is  at  S.  Marco  on 
the  day  of  the  riot,  but  takes  no  pari 
in  the  defence,  and  leaves  early, 
355  f.  ;  his  home  sacked,  his  wife 
killed,  and  himself  assassinated  by 
V.  Ridolfi  andS.  Tornabuoni  (^.  v.\ 
in  revenge  for  the  execution  of  their 
relatives  ;  alleged  design  of  S.  to 
make  him  Gonfaloniere  for  life,  413 
Valori,  Niccolo,  speech  of,  in  debate, 

309 
Vecchia,  Gioacchino  della,  captain  of 

the  guard  on  occasion  of  the  ordeal, 

340;    is   friendly   to    S.,    340   note; 

is  summarily  arrested  on  the  day  of 

the  riot,   356  f.   and   notes ;    strange 

error  of  Villari  concerning,  357  note 
"  Veduti,"  and  "Seduti,"  i.e.  holders 

of  office  by  honorary  or  actual  tenure, 

1 58 
Venality  of  officials  at  the  Papal  Court, 

23 
Venice,  constitution  of,  praised  by  S., 

156  f.,  413;    the  Council  of,   ibid.; 

interdiction,  21 ;  war  of  with  Ferrara, 

II,   21  ;  joins  the  League,   133;    S. 

has  no  interest  at,  428 
Venturi,    Luigi,   speech  of,  in  debate, 

314 

Veracity,  a  title  to  belief,  even  in 
matters  of  private  re%'elation,  314 

Vespucci,  family,  members  of  at  S. 
Marco,  103 

Vespucci,  Guidantonio,  remonstrates 
with  S.  on  behalf  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  75  ;  as  chief  of  the  aristo- 
cratic  party  opposes  Soderini,   and 


474 


INDEX 


Vespucci,  Guidantonio  —coniimied 
favours  a  "  governo  stretto,"  157; 
first  opposes,  but  afterwards  supports 
the  law  of  appeal  from  the  "sei 
fave,"  164;  his  alleged  motives, 
ibid.  ;  mentioned,  175  ;  takes  a  lead- 
ing part  in  debates,  speeches  of,  etc., 
262,  264,  310,  315,  335,  365,  373, 
380  ff. 

"  Via  dolorosa,"  the,  of  S.,  363 

Vices  prevalent  at  Plorence,  311  ;  re- 
crudescence of,  275 

Victory  promised,  etc.,  by  S.,  237,  266, 
273,  340  f.  ;  claimed  after  the  ordeal 
by  both  sides,  345  ;  a  great  moral, 
438  f. 

Vigna,  Antonio  della,  speech  of,  in 
debate,  309 

Villari,  Pasquale,  opinions  of  quoted 
and  discussed,  3,  7,  27,  119,  124, 
164,  169,  177,  215  note,  336,  357 
7iote,  429 

Villari,  P.,  and  Casanova,  E.,  their 
"  Scelta  di  Prediche,"  etc.,  212 

Vincent  Ferrer,  S.,  58;  and  s.  v. 
Prophets,  Mediffival 

Vinciguerra — Venetian  ambassador  at 
Bologna,  202 

Vision,  the,  "of  Crosses,"  86;  "of 
Swords,"  87;  "of  Lilies,"  52,  134, 
211  ;  of  B.V.M.,  52;  "of  Spirits," 
388  f. 

Visions,  alleged,  of  S.,  53,  3856'.,  418 

"  Vita  Latina,"  the,  of  S.,  89  ;  and  see 
Bibliographical  List 

Vitelli,  Vitellozzo,  visits  S.,  415 

Viterbo,  Dominican  convent  at,  214 

"Viva  Cristo  !"  cry  of,  202,  284,  360 

Vivoli,  Lorenzo,  his  reports  of  the 
sermons  of  S.,  29  note,  118  note,  272, 
277;  his  "Giornate,"  I16  note,  326 
note,  328,  345  f.,  371,  407  note,  421 


Vocation  to  priesthood,  S.  on,  280 
Voice,  divine,  50,  53 
"  Vulnera    Diligentis,"     the,     of    Fra 
Benedetto,  409 

Wadding,  Luke  (O.F.M.),  on  S.  and 
Torriano,  436,  437  note 

Wage,  a  fair,  advocated  by  S.,  34 

War,  effects  of,  on  the  peasantry,  etc., 
34  ;  of  Ferrara  and  Venice,  11,  21  ; 
of  Florence  with  Pisa,  211  ;  spiritual 
("guerra  a'  ferri  puliti,")  declared  by 
S.  against  the  Pope,  etc.,  277,  284  ii., 
288 

Warhorse  of  Job,  the,  285 

Watchman,  S.  a,  appointed  by  God,  50 

Watch-tower  of  Italy,  the,  253 

Weapons,  the,  of  God's  servants  and 
the  Devil's,  285 

"  Winnowing-fan  of  God,"  the,  274, 
283  ;  and  s.  v.  "Sifting" 

Wisdom,  true  and  false,  59  ;  dialogue 
of  S.  with,  283 

Women,  alleged  dealings  of  S.  with, 
57,  417,  427  ;  sermons  to  on  Satur- 
days, in  Lent  1498,  287  ;  volunteer 
for  ordeal,  331,  333 

Worldliness,  34 

"  Work  of  God,"  the,  276,  390 

Xavier,  S.  Francis,  his  zeal  for 
children,  48 

"ZANFRANCESCO,"z.fi.  Giovanni  Fran- 
cesco  Pico   della    Mirandola   {q.v.), 

231 
Zati,  Bernardo,  appointed  on  Examining 
Commission,   but  declines   to  serve, 

371 
Zeal  of  S.,  210,  391,  440;  indiscreet, 

real  or  alleged,  of  children,  199 
Zenobiua   S.  "  will  descend,"  etc,  288 


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